Critical Review On Edward Koch's Essay

This piece of literature first appeared in the New Republic. It was written by former New York City mayor, Edward Koch. This essay was written primarily to justify his position in favor of capital punishment. He explains to readers that although there have been attacks on his opinion, he has closely examined the opposing arguments and still supports the death penalty. Edward Koch does an excellent job in his efforts to persuade those who are morally opposed to capital punishment to change their opinions, or at least to examine the arguments more closely.

In his essay, the author includes seven main arguments opposing capital punishment and refutes them. People may find that the death penalty is a barbaric act and Koch argues this point by suggesting that the method of lethal injection is actually quite humane and literally painless. He also argues that although no other democratic country imposes the death penalty as a form of punishment, no other country boasts a murder ra...