Friday, April 30, 2010

Comparing Two Online Articles

For my final blog post of LSC COM 100 I will be comparing two online articles on the death penalty. The first article found here is in favor of the death penalty and starts by stating the fact that in a sample of 1,000 murderers, there were roughly 1,895 victims. They then continue by sharing a few stories of murders to help sway people to fight for the death penalty. In one of these accounts, a man, who had served ten years in prison for murdering his brother, a man entered his neighbor's house killing a thirteen-year-old girl and a man who had helped get him out of prison. This article continues to list many stories to try and appeal to the emotions of its readers.
Another article found here sits on the other side of the fence. They begin this article by stating that in 1972 the supreme court declared that the death penalty constitutes as cruel and unusual punishment. It then goes on to say that four years after this decision was made, 400 people were put to death. The article then goes on to say that the supreme court then moved in the opposite direction in 1976 and decided the death penalty was constitutional, and then the article proceeded to list arguments against the death penalty. These arguments include cruel and unusual punishment, it's immoral, and so on. This article seems to be more factual based while the other tries mainly to appeal to emotion.
I found the first article to be more convincing as it listed very convincing and sad stories while the second article seemed to take an almost nonhuman approach. These articles haven't changed my opinion, which I will not share for personal reasons, on this topic simply because I have heard most of these arguments before. I do not have any argument which I wish to add as these articles are fairly in depth, and again I do not wish to share my personal feelings on this topic.

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