The Constitutionality Of Capital Punishment - 2105 Words

A major discussion and legal issue that has been the topic of major debates across the world is the legality of Capital Punishment. Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty, is defined as â€Å"the legally authorized killing of someone as a punishment for committing a crime† (Oxford, n.d.). The issue has been undecided by the federal government, which gives the states the right to determine their own laws on the issue. Some states have outlawed the death penalty while others still use this practice to this day. In the state of Maryland the death penalty was used for hundreds of years before it was recently outlawed in a bill passed by the state legislature. The passing of the Capital Punishment Repeal in the state of Maryland was a†¦show more content†¦In the Eighth Amendment, there is a section called the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause. This states that the punishment for a crime can’t be inhumane and it must be fitting to the crime. For exampl e, you can’t put someone to death for stealing an apple. Because of this Amendment the death penalty is heavily debated as a fitting and humane way of dealing with capital crimes. Pro-Capital Punishment People who support Capital punishment in the State of Maryland were not happy about its repeal in 2013. Some delegates were not in favor of the repeal and voted against it. Some of them believed that we should not completely abolish the death penalty because there are extreme cases that could call for it. Delegate Smigiel said â€Å"I have grave concerns about the state having the power of life and death over other people, but there are circumstances where that s the only penalty that s appropriate for a crime† (Dresser, 2013). They believe that we should still keep it in place for extreme situations such as the Boston Marathon Massacre, and the killing of correctional officers. While the people who are advocates for the death penalty did not like the ruling, they had the opportunity to sign petitions in order to stop the passing of the repeal bill. But they did not reach the number of signatures needed to stop the bill. This shows that they did not have enough support to say that they did not