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Complete 2 pages APA formatted article: Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty. Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty Death penalty has become one of the most controversial and debated issues in the United s and as a result the pros and cons of death penalty have long been discussed. While supporters of death penalty argue that capital punishments would deter dreaded criminals from indulging in serious crimes there are many who hold that death penalty is against one’s human rights. The growing rates of homicides and serious offences have prompted many to support. On the other hand, the major argument against death penalty is that it is violates human rights, ethics, and morality. This paper seeks to explore the major pros and cons of imposing death penalty as a criminal judicial sentencing. Many researchers, human rights activist and the Catholic Church argue that death penalty is against human rights, morality and ethical considerations. There are also a large number of people who oppose death penalty because of the cruel inhuman way it is administered. In this respect, James Coleman observes that the application of the death penalty today in the American judicial system is quite arbitrary and inconsistent (The Death Penalty: Arbitrariness and the Death Penalty). Similarly, Coleman, citing the famous Lockett v. Ohio in 1978, goes on to argue that the ultimate decision of the jury to impose the death penalty is usually followed by the defendant’s opportunity to plead for mercy. It is also a fact that there are many deserving defendants who are eligible for the death penalty but escape the capital punishment and vice versa which pose a number of questions on the amount of fairness in administering death penalty.