An Argument Against the Death Penalty :: Death Penalty Argumentative Persuasive Papers

An eyewitness to the execution of John Evans in Alabama describes this motion picture from the final moments of a death penalty sentence being carried outThe first jolt of 1900 volts of electricity passed through Mr. Evans frame. It lasted thirty seconds. Sparks and flame erupted from the electrode tied to his leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the electric chair and his fist clenched permanently. A large puff of grayish smoke and sparks poured out from under the hood that cover his face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors examined Mr. Evans and declared that he was not dead. It took three jolts of electricity and 14 minutes in the first place John Evans was declared dead (Radelet, Facing the Death Penalty).Throughout history, various forms of executions such as this one have taken place as a penalisation for crime. In 1976, the United States reinstated the death penalty after having revoked it in 1972 on the grounds that it violated the Constitutions ban on cruel and peculiar punishment (MacKinnon, Ethics 289). Since its reinstatement, the morality of such punishment has been extensively debated. I argue that the death penalty cannot be morally justified on the elemental grounds that killing a human being as a form of punishment is wrong.A major argument supporting capital punishment is that it serves as a deterrent to crimes - specifically, murder. However, this argument requires that the would be killer would take at least a moment to consider what the consequences of murder within our sanctioned system are. This assumes that the killer is capable of such reasoning, and that the crime would be considered before it occurred. In fact, those who commit violent crimes often do so in moments of passion, peevishness and fear - times when irrationality reigns (Information, jacket Punishment 107). Whether or not a murder or crime is premeditated, there are statistics existing that progress to us to question how supportive an argument of deterrence can be. In 1989, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee said that if we look at another(prenominal) Western democracies, Not one of those countries has capital punishment for peacetime crimes, and yet every one of them has a murder rate less than half that of the United States (Information, Capital Punishment 110). The Information Series on capital punishment also says that states that FBI statistics from 1976-1987 show that In the twelve states where executions take place, the murder rate is.

Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: Shakespeare, Romeo Juliet

Do you believe in fate? To answer the question, you must(prenominal) first have a correct idea of what fate is. A definition of fate would be the power that is supposed to settle ahead of period how things will happen. Could there be such a power that rules our lives, and if so, why? Romeo and Juliet, the two young lovers in William Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet, ended up becoming a large part of what could be called fate. Fate seemed to take their lives and force them together, becoming a large part of their love, and the ending of their parents hatred. Fate became the ultimate control power in this play, and plays a large part in modern everyday life, even if we dont recognize it. Maybe we dont recognize it because we choose not to, or dont have faith like we used to, but the fact remains that fate controls what we do throughout all of our lives.   A large part of the beliefs for some(prenominal) Romeo and Juliet involve fate. They believed in the stars, and that their a ctions werent always their own. Romeo, for example, 1.4.115-120, he says, Some consequence yet hanging in the stars...by some vile forfeit of untimely death. But he that hath the steerage over my course Direct my sail. Hes basically saying to his friends that he had a dream which leads him to believe that he will die young because of something in the stars, something that will happen. He ends with ...he that hath steerage over my course... which implies that he does not have control over his life if he looks to another power above himself to direct him. He does not feel that he is the one who makes decisions, it is all a higher purpose, a different power. Were all sort of like the puppets below the puppeteer. Hes petition for that puppeteer to direct his sail, or his life, in the right direction.   Fate directs us all like the puppets on the end of its string, and I believe strongly in it. It is, in many ways, the mystical power that controls who and what we become, and it exp lains that which can not be explained. Romeo was looking to this power, asking of this power to direct him, not to an untimely death as he foresaw in his dream, but to just steer him, because that is the control which he knows he does not have over himself.

The Difficulty with Defining Feminism Essay -- Definition Feminism Fem

The Difficulty with Defining Feminism In Feminist Theory from margin to center, bell hook states on the first foliate what she believes to be the difficulty with feminist movement. In her opinion the biggest problem with feminism is that there is no real definition of what feminism is. The definition many people keep back formulated for feminism is having the goal of making woman socially equal to men. hooks problem with this is the fact that all men are not socially equal. If women are to be the social equals to men then another question would be which men women will be socially equal to. eon many white middle and upper class women accept this definition, the lower socioeconomic classes can not because it does not take race and its disadvantages into account.One charge of hooks is the fact that many women do not wish to be associated with feminism. With the amount of women that do not wish to be associated with the term it will be hard to make any sort of real transformation s ocially. She points out that the root of this is that there is no real definition for feminism. While she views it as the crusade to end sexist oppression, many women view it as a lifestyle or associate feminism with lesbianism. In addition, many women view feminism as a white womens rights group. This excludes oppressed ethnic groups of women. She makes a good point with this issue because before any further goals can be reached, feminism must become something that women want to be a part of. If the very women that would be benefiting from the goals that the group has do not want to be associated with the term, then it makes mainstream conjunction dismiss the group even more than it already does.It is hard to understand how hook intends to take action as a fem... ... solution for the oppression of women in society, hook feels like it would not make any progress in the real goal of eliminating sexist oppression. After reading the essay I run a risk myself siding more with hook on this issue. Richs solution for oppression of women seems to be to create more valuable relationships between women. While this may be a good idea for part of a solution it seems as though nothing would be accomplished by this in the spacious run due to the fact that men are not changing behavior in this solution. Nothing seems to be done about the real problem in Richs ideas.After reading a few different readings on feminism and what needs to be done about oppression I have found that I most agree with the direction hook is going. She seems to be very aware of what needs to be done in what order to make feminism strong enough to approach the issues at hand.

The Vinland Map :: History Papers

The Vinland Map is believed to predate Christopher Columbus expedition by almost 50 eld as it has realistic cartography of the island of Vinland, thought to be a exposit of Canada or even Northeastern America. The function could potentially provide evidence that the Scandinavian explorers were the first Europeans to visit America and map it. However, there is doubt surrounding the origins and age of the map. These issues have divided scientists into two groups devoted to proving the authenticity or pretermit thereof of the map. Recent research has use several chemical analyses which have examined specifically the paper and the ink present on the map. The most recent methods used to test the map have been carbon dating and Raman spectroscopy. It is thought that the map was written on paper which has origins in pre-Columbus days. However, several analyses of the ink have revealed the aim of anatase, a form of TiO 2, which was non developed until the first part of the 20 th Centur y. This clearly would contradict the evidence that the paper is authentic. However, these two claims do not necessarily contradict one another.A recent theory is that the parchment was recovered from an earlier work and then a forger used sophisticated ink to draw a fake map. Carbon-14 dating has put the origins of the parchment to the mid 1400s. It is very hard to come to a definitive conclusion from the acquirable evidence as both sides offer strong arguments. In my own opinion, the map is more likely authentic than a forgery. However, the controversy surrounding the map has not yet been settled. The Vinland Map has been at the center of controversy ever since it appeared around 1957. It depicts several islands in the Atlantic Ocean, but more importantly, an island called Vinland. This island is believed to be part of Canada or even Northeastern America. If the map is truly genuine, then it pre-dates Columbus discovery of America by more than 50 years (Gorman, 2002). However, th ere has been never-ending doubt surrounding its origins and authenticity. These issues have divided scientists into two camps which seem to ride circles around one another. As soon as new evidence arises, psyche disputes it with counterarguments that are just as strong. The controversy has focused most recently on two issues the ink used to draw the map, and the parchment that it is drawn upon.

thomas paine :: essays research papers

Thomas Paine was more than just a writer. He did some(prenominal) things in his life. He wrote pamphlets and books like the Common Sense, or African Slavery on America. He is still recognized for his writings today.Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737 in Thetford, England. He was the son of a farmer and corsetmaker. He went to a local school until the age of thirteen. We was forced to leave school so he could help his father at work. He went through many jobs, and felt unhappy at everyone he tried.He went to sea at the age of nineteen. He traveled from place to place meeting many different people. He got married, but unfortunately she died a year later in 1760. He remarried in 1771. But again he was separated from her common chord years later. His appointment as excise collector in 1762 was lost in 1765 because of an improper foundation report. ( Encyclopedia of World Biography, 66)Paine moved to America because of a London meeting with Benjamin Franklin. He got a job writin g for a magazine called the daddy Magazine, and eventually became the editor. He wrote the Common Sense in 1776, about independence. It was a instantaneous success. It was even translated into German and printed in England, Scotland, Holland, and France. It sold 120,000 in just three months, and over six million today. It was said to get the people ready for the Declaration of Independence soon after.For the remainder of the Revolution he was with Washingtons soldiers. He wrote The Crisis which appeared between December 1776 and April 1783. Again he was Paine was know for his phrasemaking. In his later papers Paine attacked Tories, profiteers, inflationists, and counterfeiters. (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 66) On April 19, 1783, he concluded his Crisis series on a note of expectations. He lived quietly after the Revolution. He worked on several inventions, like a pierless iron bridge to cross the Schuylkill River. He wrote the progress of Reason, in 1794, which was a direct at tack on the irrationality of religion and a defense of deism. Despite Paines belief in the Creator, it was suppressed in England.

Transcultural Nursing Essay -- cultural competency, holistic nursing p

IntroductionDiversity of the worlds population has reached a augur where it is vital to address and more importantly to understand, the ever growing challenge that transcultural nursing poses to the nursing profession. Addressing this issue avoids discrimination and promotes equality within holistic nursing practice in order to meet patients needs. Health keeping professionals should be qualified to deliver, on a daily basis, proficient care and afflictive skilled communication to culturally different individuals (Maier-Lorentz, 2008).To exercise professional nursing in a conceptual way holistic nursing care focuses on physical, emotional, social, environmental and spiritual aspects as well as on the idea that any individual involved in treatment care should be inured as a whole and with dignity (Dossey & Guzzetta, 2005). One of the areas to be discussed is Transcultural treat and Leiningers Transcultural Theory of Culture Care Diversity and universality and its research enable rs the Sunrise Enabler and the Ethnonursing Method.Another area will be Holistic Nursing Practice and Nightingales Nursing Theory of Environmental variation as well as the liaison between Transcultural Nursing and Holistic Nursing Practice.Nightingales theory has been chosen over others because she was the first gear to acknowledge nurses work in a theoretical framework and also because she was considered to be the mother of nursing practices (Ellis, 2008).The development of culture care theory introduced health care professionals into a new nursing dimension formed by issues such as culture background, spirituality, environment and others that demonstrated how culture and health care are linked (Leininger, 2002a).Holistic Nursing Practice en... ...g. Online. 28 (1), p. 84. Available from http//ezproxy.napier.ac.uk2823/content/28/1/81.full.pdf+html accessed 2nd April 2010. The International Council for Nurses, (2005). The ICN Code of moral philosophy for Nurses. Available from http//www.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/about/icncode_english.pdf accessed 20th March 2011.Woerner, L., Espinosa, J., Bourne, S., Otoole, M., & Ingerson, G., L., (2009). Project Exito Success through diversity and universality for outcomes improvement among Hispanic home care patients. Online. Nursing Outlook. 57 (5), p.271. Available from http//ezproxy.napier.ac.uk2152/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6WNY-4XB1JCX-B-1&_cdi=6975&_user=132448&_pii=S0029655409000177&_origin=gateway&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2009&_sk=999429994&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkzk&md5=04d1ebfb99f4824da35541a0a368b5a6&ie=/sdarticle.pdf accessed 30th March 2011.

The High School Gymnasium :: Observation Essays, Descriptive Essays

My alarm clock blares into my silent room. Its time to spend the early hours of my Saturday morning at the same place I worn out(p) the late hours of my Friday night. Groggily I get dressed and leave without breakfast. When I arrive, it is dark, empty and cold. The lonely feeling replaces what was bright, full and warm just hours ago. This place is the gymnasium at my high school. For four years, I have exerted sweat, tears, and even blood in this place. On this stage, four years of my growing up and maturing were played out for anyone unbidden to pay two dollars. I have been everyw here(predicate) in this gym, from standing high on the bleachers with a birds eye view, to lying on the ground debating whether to rise only to get knocked downward(a) again. Those who have left a part of themselves in this place can breathe deeply and urge experiences. Experiences of glorious victories and experiences of embarrassing defeats both experiences I have left in that gym. Friendships were made and lost on that court, and other ones strengthened when my friends from outside came with their support and encouragement. It is here I learned perseverance, hard work, determination and loyalty. It is non here that I found who I was, but more who I was not. It is here I had to not settle for mediocrity, but strive for excellence. When I think back to the long hours I spent in this gymnasium, the most prominent memory will be my final game there. It was a night of emotions. I was surrounded by encouraging teammates, supportive family and friends, and finally I received my reward for the energy I had spent there for four years I made the game winning shot. While my name will soon be taken down from the wall, and another person will wear number thirty-three in that gym, I have left a piece of me there, which is the beauty of the place.