What does rhetoric have to do with capital punishment? Quite a lot in fact if you want to make an argument as well as Edward I. Koch did in his compelling essay in favor of the death penalty. Koch is billed by the publishers of the book containing his essay as “The Fiery and Opinionated Mayor of New York…” (handout). The editors continue to describe Koch's character and abilities by emphasizing that he is a politician with a law degree and experience as an attorney. More specifically, he was leader of the Democratic Party and then a member of Congress (handout). Koch was still mayor of New York in 1985 when he wrote “Death and Justice.” “[The] essay was first published in The New Republic…” (handout), an American liberal magazine. Readers of the New Republic are primarily Democrats and can therefore be considered generally against capital punishment. This situation puts Koch in the precarious position of making his point contrary to the consensus of his voters. Despite this daunting scenario, Koch is compelled to produce his essay because he wants to make clear to his constituents that, even in light of recently made public statements by convicted killers that capital punishment is wrong, he [Koch ] always supports death. penalty. Koch opened his introduction with specific and graphic testimony about the statements made by the MM killers. Willie and Shaw. I believe Koch did a good job advancing his argument using the modes of persuasion that I will now demonstrate by analyzing his use of ethos, logos, and pathos in his writings. Koch has captured the attention of his audience and now he moves to gain their trust through his use of ethos in paragraph four. He wants his middle of paper to be shocked or afraid to get involved. The narration is intended to make its audience feel uncomfortable or inadequate, so that they agree with them that they need help dealing with these types of issues. He has already laid out the solution for them in the previous paragraph by saying that giving power to the state is the civilized thing to do (324). He hopes that this final burst of pathos will close the case and that his audience will inevitably agree that the death penalty is necessary to deter crime and deliver justice. My conclusion will briefly summarize my analysis and answer the question: Does Koch create a strong argument? Did he persuade me to agree with him? Why or why not? Works Cited Koch, Edward I. “Death and Justice.” 40 model essays: a portable anthology. Handout.English 1A. (Professor Nicole Capps.) Norco College, February 2014.