The death penalty doesn’t serve anyone any justice. It is just a pricey, easy and nonproductive way to get rid of someone who has committed a horrible crime. Execution is quick and painless, but living in prison your whole life can drive someone nuts. Sure the person may deserve to die for the crimes they have committed but it is more just to make the person sit in a cell their whole life thinking about what they did. That makes more sense than just killing the person for what they have done, that serves no justice, the person is not having to live with what they did, they are getting an easy way out of the crime they have committed.
The death penalty does not serve its main purpose, which is to lower murder rate. The murder rate in U.S. states with the death penalty is surprisingly higher than that of non-death penalty states. In 1999 data showed that the average of murder rates per 100,000 population in death penalty states is 5.5, when on the other side non-death penalty states have an average of 3.6 (DeathPenaltyInfo). Although in the past ten years it is evident that as the number of executions in the U.S. goes up the murder rate goes down, it still shows as whole that death penalty states have a higher murder rate than the non-death penalty states. As you read you must remember I am not arguing that the death penalty is unjust, my argument is that it is more painful for the criminal on death row to sit in a cell there whole life having to be reminded of what they have done rather than to let them off easy by killing them.
Based on this, is it necessary to spend two to three million dollars extra on sentencing a criminal to death compared to the cost of imprisoning someone for life (AMIUSA). That comes out of the taxpayers money as well, it was estimated that the death penalty cost Maryland’s taxpayers 186 million dollars between 1978 and 1999. In California the system costs $137 million a year, it would cost around $11.5 million for a system that doesn’t incorporate the death penalty (AMIUSA). Spending taxpayer’s money on the death penalty takes money that could be used for necessary issues such as medical care, education, helping keep people off the streets. There are much more important things to focus our money on rather than an easy way to get rid of killers or rapists.
Lain Murray, a writer for The American Enterprise, said, “Overall, 67% of people support for the death penalty in the U.S., according to one poll (not the latest, for which it would be lower– I’m taking this from my 2003 post). The opposing side would say it should be up to the people of the individual states to decide if the death penalty should be enforced. Over the past decade public opinion polls have generally shown that a majority of Americans spread across the U.S. favor capital punishment over no capital punishment (CollegiateTimes). As of April 27th, the United States, there are 16 states that have banned the death penalty and 34 states that remain to keep capital punishment (GaleNet). With this is it obvious that there are more people in the U.S. that agree with the death penalty than people that don’t. This may be true, but data shows the number of states that use the death penalty has also been decreasing since 2004. In the last 5 years two states have stopped using the death penalty. (JusticeUAA). More states will eventually stop using the penalty as they see the increase in the money they save and justice they serve by not using the death penalty.
As you have seen justice is not being served by using the death penalty as a punishment for heinous crimes. The statistics have proven that in states that use the death penalty the murder rate is higher than the murder rate in states that don’t use capital punishment. Finally after learning the ineffectiveness of the death penalty, reflect back on the thought of is it necessary to spend extra money on the use of capital punishment, or should we invest the taxpayer’s money in things more important. The decided that I will send a message to the governor of Washington state, Christine Gregiore and I will present the same facts in my letter. Facts are facts and they can tell a lot about what is right and what is be wrong.
The sky, reddened by a typical Midwestern sunset, begins clouding over just before dusk.
But no threat of rain can stop the twenty thousand rock fans from flocking to Cincinnati’s River-front Coliseum to see and hear Pink Floyd.
The concert is still three hours off yet there are several thousand pumped up early birds decked out in faded jeans, and tie-dyed t-shirts.
There are obvious newcomers to the rock scene dressed conspicuously in pressed checked slacks and expensive shirts, wandering about gawking at the others.
There are loners, with their arms dangling at their sides, they weave aimlessly around in circles as they squint there eyes to steady themselves.
There are couples clinging to each other near fountains or in remote corners.
There are real police, not those rent-a-cops, these cops stride confidently in large groups amongst the crowd, twirling their billyclubs as they scan theirs eyes over the area looking for trouble.
Hawkers call out wherever there are crowds, trying to unload cheap t-shirts and pennants, but draw laughter from most concert goers.
The numbers grow, there are circles of roamers, couples, and cops, all swarming confusedly over the acres of concrete that lead up to the auditorium.
The management realizes the hordes can no longer be contained peacefully, the doors finally open, waves of fans that are already tired and sweaty from waiting pour into the coliseum, just in time to wait out the final hour before the show.
What does guilt mean to you? Is it the feeling you get when you did something that you knew was wrong? To me guilt is the feeling of knowing what you did or are doing is untrue to your beliefs. If something you did makes you feel regretful in a sort of negative way, that feeling is probably guilt. Guilt can influence your actions. For example if you did something that made you feel really guilty after, this feeling of guilt may sway you to not doing that action again. It can also influence you in your doings, lets say you are doing something and as you are doing it you feel guilty, this may cause you to stop what you are doing because of that feeling of guilt.
When I was younger I decided to steal some candy at Safeway. Little did I know, my mom was watching me the whole time. It was the worst feeling ever for me when I got caught. She decided she would let me go home with the candy without me even knowing I had been caught. Even if she hadn’t seen me take it she had to have known I was up to something. My body was shaking, I was saying odd things, my face was red. It was a horrible feeling to know that I had just stolen something right in front of my mom, but even besides the fact that it was in front of my mom I just felt bad that I had stolen anything. I knew my mom was going to find out regardless of weather she saw me or not because I knew my guilt would take over my body and I would force myself to tell her hat I had done.
When we got home I ran up to my room and started crying in my bed. I heard the footsteps of my mom coming up the stairs, I was panicking, the guilt was just killing me, she heard me crying and said Emmett what’s wrong. I busted into the hallway, crying and screaming and I hugged my mom and said I stole something at Safeway. It was a horrible thing to have to tell her. She made me come into her room and talk to me. She knew I didn’t feel good about what I had done so she was fairly nice to me about the whole situation. After a while of my mom questioning me about why I did it and everything, my guilt slowly started to go away with every fact I told my mom. After everything was done I asked my mom if it was ok if we could go back to the store so I could put the candy back because that was the only way I felt my guilt would all be gone. I was very disappointed in myself but my mom seemed very proud of me and she told me she was because I had lived up to the fact that I stole the candy she was proud with the fact that my guilt took over and wouldn’t let me keep going on with it. When I brought the candy back to the store my guilt reached the empty level.
It is good to know now how I would feel to steal something. I know now I wouldn’t be able to do it again because of that awful feeling of guilt that overwhelms me. This was an extremely positive outcome. It is just so good to know that my guilt will not aloud me to do another thing like this.
Last year I was with a couple friends and they were saying really harsh things to this younger geeky looking kid. Even though I wasn’t joining in on this act of bullying, all it took was the fact that I was with these people that were just unleashing disses about this kid’s rolly backpack and kicking it around while also throwing stuff at the non-deserving kid. The guilt just ran through my body and there was no way I could have just sat and watched. I had enough and I stepped in and told them to leave him alone. I knew my friends were going to flip me crap about me being “soft” or something but it was worth it to get that guilt out of my mind and body.
This just goes to show how much guilt can positively affect my doings. If I had not had that feeling of guilt in both events I stated, I might have contributed to bullying that kid or I might now be stealing people’s iPods with no remorse. The feeling of guilt may not feel good at the time but you can channel that negative feeling into a positive feeling, knowing that you are doing the right thing, and knowing that you don’t like to put yourself into situations that may leave you feeling guilty
1. According to the author a rant is a high-flown, extravagant, or bombastic speech or utterance; a piece of turgid declamation; a tirade. The baseball example qualifies because it fits the definition of a rant, they are just dragging out this conversation of derek jeter and joe torre.
2. The rant has changed in the age of the web because the web makes it possible for others to write a response to rants, thus causing more and more rants.
3. This essay definition looks at comparison and history.
4. “ Some of the first rants of the modern era—at least some of the first to be referred to as such—were associated with a short-lived, 17th-century English sect known (to their enemies) as the “Ranters.” Its members’ penchant for tobacco, alcohol, women, and swearing sprung from a belief in the divinity of all things and a rejection of the idea of sin altogether. They were frequently accused of blasphemy and of profaning religious rituals. A Ranter preacher, Abiezer Coppe, once swore for an entire hour while standing at the pulpit. Richard Baxter, a Puritan divine, recounted with horror the power that such “hideous words of Blasphemy” could have: “[A] Matron of great Note for Godliness and Sobriety, being perverted by them, turned so shameless a Whore, that she was Carted in the streets of London.”
5. Rants are fine. Rants give us a chance to tell how we really feel. Just lets you spill your thoughts of something to the fullest.
To me being happy is just feeling really “up” and having no worries and being stress free. happiness comes when certain events occur that just really satisfy you. You can also be happy in general, just when life is going good, everything is falling into place and you are enjoying everything that you are engaging your self in. I am happy when I do good on a test or an assignment or maybe my mom or dad tells me something that makes me feel good. I usually feel happy until something bad happens that just ruins the happiness.
After reading the hook I am left confused. I don’t think this is a good hook at all because I am not interested in reading about the authors grandmother and her stories. Especially because it says the mid-1920s, this is extremely boring to me. The conclusion is written to try and convince people that just like her grandmother would have done back when she was going through the depression, now that we are going through a economic crisis, we to should start telling stories. It is trying to say that stories will make our lives seem more meaningful. She tells the story about the how they peddled cake flavoring and cased sausages as a way to show how poor they were and what they would do for money rather then just say it. Another way she does this is when she says about the women quilting and so on. She uses this to again show rather than tell how poor they were.
1. Swirling and swirling the ocean was. I looked and thought oh no a hurricane, we are all going to die, but then I thought about it and I realized that the way the ocean swirled and the way the wind blew so hard, was kind of a awesome sight.
2. Drool covered half of the class room desks. The sound of snoring was almost overpowering the teachers voice. I heard someone whisper when is class going to end.
3. I was with my mom in the car and I heard this loud honk and I looked back and saw that my mom had drove over a clown and his nose honked because my mom hit it with her tire.
How does Rittenberg hook the reader? What’s happening?
He hooks me as a reader by connecting his age with mine. When he said his game it kind out sucked me in and made me want to read on.
What specifics does Rittenberg use to emphasize how older generations saw horrible things in their lifetimes?
He talked about the wars and how his grandparents and great grandparents witnessed them. How they came to ellis island and life was hard.
How does Rittenberg use specifics to demonstrate his hopefulness?
He talks about how all those horrible things happen when his grandparents but amongst all this there were still good things that happen.
How does Rittenberg use the title to make his point?
He used examples of how although all these bad things happen when his grandparents were living, there were still good things that happen. His father always said that tomorrow will be better and that’s how he supported his title.
T. Susan Chang wrote about how she felt about the world being digital. She says that she was sucked into it when she got a computer in college. She says from then on she became more and more engaged in the digital world. Although all this digitalization is happening she says she likes to keep in touch with her old school self. She says from time to time she writes by hand rather then by the digital way of computers.
I am a strong writer when I am in the mood. If I get in the groove when Im writing it’s hard for me to stop. But it is hard to find me in that groove, most of the time I sit down to write and I just can’t think of what to write. Last semester in creative writing our first assignment was to create a short story that creates good imagery. My finished product was one of the best pieces I have ever written. I felt like it would leave a really good impression on my new teacher. I was right, she really pushed me and told me I was a good writer. If I turned in work that she felt was not to my best ability, she would let me know and tell me to really try again and showcase my the work that I was capable of. I felt like I proved to myself that I can be a good writer if I sit down and try. I do all my work independently. I find it very hard to write in a noisy environment. I like to listen to music sometimes, it really can get me into the writing mood. But I can say that I never write my best when I am with a friend or in a classroom when everyone is talking. I think writing is a required part of teachings in school because it is very important to learn how to correctly write. People need to understand what it takes to write in a respectable manner. I think writing teachers should focus more on grading and helping fix the punctuation or spelling or format rather then the content itself because I believe that writing should stay your own. Sometimes writing teachers get out of hand and tell you what you didn’t include or what you shouldn’t have included in your writings. This is only necessary to a certain point. I think it is important to realize that what you are grading is someone else’s piece and it’s what they chose to include.
