Read the passage below and answer the questions. The death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime. While some argue that the threat of…
BBS Business English · 2083 · Solved Question with Answer
Read the passage below and answer the questions.
The death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crime. While some argue that the threat of capital punishment discourages potential offenders, statistics consistently show that states with the death penalty do not have lower crime rates than those without it. For instance, Louisiana, with the death penalty, has a murder rate of 21.3 per 100,000 residents, while Iowa, which abolished the death penalty in 1965, has a rate of only 3.2 per 100,000, according to College Transitions. These numbers demonstrate that the death penalty has no discernible impact on reducing violent crime. Therefore, the argument that it deters crime is not supported by empirical evidence.
a. Extract the topic sentence of the paragraph given above.
b. Do you find the supporting detail, i.e., numbers, convincing?
c. Suppose you are a supporter of death penalty. Challenge the conclusion of the passage above.