The Death Penalty
Mencken believes that if a criminal kills a man, that criminal deserves to be sentenced to death if he is found guilty. Mencken argues that the only thing that is cruel about the death penalty is the way that the process is dragged out. Mencken claims that dragging the punishment process out hurts not only the guilty, but the victims of the crimes as well. Mencken wants the reader to be aware of the torture that both parties undergo. The goal of Mencken's argument is to force the reader to re-think what is really cruel. Mencken argues that a prisoner has the right to a speedy execution, just like they have the right to a speedy trial, " The real objection to capital punishment doesn't lie against the actual extermination of the condemned, but against the brutal American habit of putting it off so long." Mencken points out that it is crueler to put a man in jail with the knowledge that he will die than it is to hang the criminal immediately. "But it is one thing to die, and quite another to lie for long months and even years under the shadow of death. No sane man would choose such
Mencken argues that all victims require a katharsis for closure, that in order for their inner turmoil to be resolved, they require a "healthy letting off a steam. " According to Mencken, this desire for recompense can not be ignored, he believes that it is a fundamental aspect of human nature. The instant they get it they are comfortable. The reader can infer from this, and the other passages presented, that to deny that sense of relief to the victims causes undue emotional turmoil. Katharsis is required for the victim to attain peace of mind. "Until they get that satisfaction they are in a state of emotional tension, and hence unhappy. I have seen more than one man sitting in the death-house, and I don't want to see anymore. Mencken wants to know whether it is crueler to kill a man, or to have him sit in a cell for months or even years with the knowledge that he will be executed. What they want is the peace of mind that goes with the feeling that accounts are squared. " Mencken states that people require some form of revenge before they can be satisfied. " Here, Mencken directly states that the goal of judicial sentencing is to provide relief to the victims of the crime. Mencken believes that it is crueler to force a criminal to undergo months of psychological torture than to hang him.
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Acceptance Essays
