Death Penalty in the United States - Essay Example

To decide whether any offense committed by an individual is proportional to the punishment that is given, then, three aspects of the offense and the punishment must be put into consideration. There should be a comparison between the nature of the offense given and the degree of how harsh the offense committed is (Lamb, 203). The punishment offered should be compared to the other punishments that have been handed previously to other offenders who have committed an offense of similar nature and magnitude.

In this case, there should be a consideration as to whether other bigger crimes are subjected to the same magnitude of the crime or a lower punishment. If bigger crimes have been awarded lower punishment, as compared to the offense committed by the offender, then the punishment is regarded as lacking proportionality (Turner, 211). However, under international law, proportionality is applied to mean that the damage or harm caused to civilians or their property in a military attack should not be excessive, and should tally with the military advantage anticipated. If any attack causes more harm to the civilians, more than is acceptable as per the anticipated military advantage, then the attack is observed to lack proportionality (Shamash, 20).

The death penalty is a controversial issue in law, where there has been a long-term argument that it should be completely abolished as a form of punishment for any sought offense or crime. Though still administered to the offenders committing crimes, which are so dire and severe, there are some exemptions. However, the exemptions differ from one country to another, based on their laws and legal principles. However, some exemptions are majorly common. There are circumstances under which some groups are exempted from the death penalty. The first of these groups are the severely mentally ill or severely mentally retarded individuals (Shamash, 23). This group is exempted from the death penalty, because any act of crime they commit may not be fully intended, but rather could be a consequence of their mental illnesses.

Another group exempted from the death penalty is juveniles or minors who are below the age of 18 years (Turner, 234).  Read More