There are many reasons to both support and oppose the death penalty. Many people can feel very strongly about whether or not they approve of this method of punishment. I feel that the death penalty is wrong, and I believe that there is much support to back this up. I believe that the death penalty is wrong because it is not an effective deterrent, racially and economically bias, unreliable, expensive, and morally wrong of society. One argument from death penalty supporters is that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to prevent other people from committing murders. It is the belief that people will think out the consequences of their actions before murdering, and consider the …show more content…
There are many variables that go into deciding if a person will or will not get the death penalty. I feel that there are too many bias and variables to say that the penalty is dealt out fairly. The people who are up for capital punishment and cannot afford their own attorney are assigned one by the state, which may be of much lower effectiveness than one could afford with much financial backing. According to the Michigan State webpage: "Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 158 black defendants have been executed for the murder of a white victim, while only 11 white defendants have been executed for the murder of a black victim". This is a clear indication that the penalty is racially bias. The taking of a person's life is unreliable and once a mistake is made, nothing can be done to make up for it, because you have taken the person's life. Current statistics show that for every 7 people executed one has been released from death row. One in seven does not sound like never good consistency to me, and how many of the 6 still executed could still be innocent? I feel that the death of innocents cannot be justified by the death penalty. A recent study at Columbia University found that two thirds of capital cases had serious errors in them, two thirds does not sound like a very consistent number that I would
According to capital punishment supporters, many of these reasons of the anti-death penalty movement are false and are now wrongly accepted as fact. The argument that the death penalty does not deter crime is debatable. By executing murderers you prevent them from murdering again. If these people no longer exist then they obviously cannot commit more crimes. In addition, criminals have admitted, in thousands of fully documented cases, that the death penalty was the specific threat which deterred them from committing murder (Pro-Death Penalty, 2014). The opponents of capital punishment claim that the death penalty has caused and can cause the execution of innocent people. However, according to the supporters, no evidence indicates that innocent people have been executed. Upon reviewing 23 years of capital sentences, a Wall Street Journal study indicated that they were unable to find a single case in which an innocent person was executed (Eddlem, 2002). Furthermore, advocates note that the
Many people who are supporters of the death penalty say that it’s a successful deterrent. But this isn’t true because the death penalty is administered very inconsistently and arbitrarily. “Only a small proportion of first-degree murders is sentenced to death, and even fewer are executed” (Bedau). There are also several states that have a lower criminal rate without using capital punishment. For example Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan all get along just fine without the use of the death penalty. Also “…all other Western industrial countries get along quite well without killing their citizens” (Ryan). There are many judges that are against the use of capital punishment as well.
Over the course of history, the death penalty is a very heated and debatable topic. The death penalty is often viewed as inhumane and cruel. As a country that prides itself on American values and justice, we need to call attention to the criminals sitting in our jails. This is a monumental decision that no one wants to make, but someone has to. My personal stand point of the death penalty is that the death penalty is in place to help rid our society of criminal's that are incapable of being rehabilitated and released back into society. I support the death penalty because these criminals have caused emotional upheaval and are costing our society more funds required to sit in our jails with the life sentence with no parole rather than exercising
Inmate rate has gone up since the middle of the twentieth century. Oklahoma is in the top 3 for most executions with 83 executions. Virginia has had a total of 97 executions, Texas has had 375 and of the 183 executions there are 100 African Americans, 47 Caucasians, 18 Latinos and 1 Asian American 11 of the people ethnicity was unknown. There have been 2 firing squad deaths since 1976. 57.1% of people executed since 1976 have been white. Whites make up 36% of executions, blacks make up 57.1% and Mexicans make up 6% of executions since 1976. Race of homicide victims in case resulting in an execution: Hispanic 4%, African-American 14%, White 80%, other 2%. And here are some more facts; there have been 153 electrocutions since 1976. Also there have been 3 hangings from the death penalty since 1976. Some people oppose the death penalty and some people are for it, why? I guess people just have facts for both sides. But here are some facts I have about people that oppose the death penalty. Because some people might not have did a bad crime. They also think god should be the judge and not the law. Also the prisoners could be rehabilitated and become normal and not be a threat to society. A lot of people think it is wrong to take a life. And there as probably been some executions were they weren’t even guilty , so before they execute somebody they should make sure they are right and make sure they person is guilty . Other people think that the death
The death penalty is a corrupt form of legal justice. For example, “…Defendants in about one-third of the Texas cases were represented at trial by an attorney who had been or later was suspended or otherwise sanctioned…”(Leibman). This use of fraudulent attorneys in a case can lead to enough inaccuracies in the evidence to wrongfully execute a person. This action is against the constitutional right given to us of equal justice for all. In addition, “…One of you two is gonna hang for this. Since you're the nigger, you're elected…”(Texas Police Officer). A Texas police officer said this to 2 men, one black and one white that were connected to the murder of a 17-year-old girl. Race plays a big part in the sentence of guilty or innocent. However, supporters of the death penalty claim “…that it enforces the laws by issuing strict punishment to the offenders…”(President George Bush). The death
The death penalty is a controversial topic that has been brought to the United States Supreme Court many times. According to the Oxford dictionary, the death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime . Usually the death penalty is administered for murder, attempted murder, or intent to kill. It started off being administered by hanging, but then evolved to the electric chair and is now administered through lethal injection. From 1940 to 2014, approximately 3,771 people have been legally executed in the United States. Throughout the years, many things have been determined about the death penalty. The first being that it violates human rights. The second is that innocent lives cannot be brought back. And the third is the large possibility of a biased jury. There have been many cases that support these three points which I will address later. So, based on Supreme Court rulings, the death penalty is unconstitutional and should not continue to be legal.
The problem with the death penalty is, there is a better alternative which is life without parole. The death penalty is unnecessary because the high cost of the death penalty, puts innocent lives at risk, capital punishment doesn’t deter crime, the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment, and Deterrence value of the death penalty.
The death penalty is a punishment that lowers the crime rate. It is a controversial subject. Some people are for it and others are not. Some have seen it as deterrent, and some have seen it as state sanctioned murder and not civilized. It is a great thing because it keeps people from committing crimes as much. The death penalty is supported by thirty three states, but it is banned or abandoned in seventeen states. The societies which are against it have a crime rate increase so for the people that live there they have no peace or security because the people are not as afraid to commit a crime. Anytime someone commits murder they should be convicted with the death penalty in order to show the other criminals and set an example for them on what
Those whom support the death penalty believe that is will deter certain crimes as murder. They believe that people fear death and see life in prison as less punishment and not as feared as
The death penalty has been a subject of controversy for many decades. Many people argue between it being more or less humane than a life sentence. Some say it’s not right to kill someone for killing someone else. Others believe it’s not right to keep someone in jail with no hope of leaving, especially in unhealthy, unsafe conditions. In my opinion, I am all for the death penalty; it’s better to die than live in prison for the rest of your life. The reasons why is that it is cheaper, better for the prisoner, and if someone argues the 8th amendment
Death Penalty The death penalty, outlawed in most of Europe, Canada, Australia and most other countries in the world, is still practiced in almost 40 states in the U.S. Today, there are more than 3,000 people on death row waiting the day of their execution. They are put to death by methods such as hanging, electrocution, lethal injection and by firing squad. Since the death penalty was reinstated bye the supreme court in 1976, by the Gregg v. Georgia decision, more than 525 people have been put to death.
I strongly believe in the death penalty because it deters crime. According to James Pitkin (2008) “Advocates of the death penalty argue that it deters crime, is a good tool for police and prosecutors (in plea bargaining for example), makes sure that convicted criminals do not offend again and is a just penalty for atrocious crimes such as child murders, serial killers or torture murderers.”
One of the main contributing factors to support the abolishment of the death penalty is the risk of executing innocent lives. Over 150 people in the past few years alone have been taken off death row because they were eventually found innocent.() Whether one would like to believe it or not, numerous executions have been carried out where years later the actual culprit responsible for a crime were found and tried. No matter how current the legal system may be with DNA testing and its technology, the system can occasionally fail. People are prone to make mistakes. This can unfortunately lead to DNA being altered, with the possibility of being falsely documented into the system. Investigative workers themselves can even tamper and plant false
Groups that support the death penalty often say that it deters criminals from committing future crimes like murders or other heinous crimes. On the contrary, many criminals do not think of the consequences of their actions when they are committing a crime, nor do they care what happens
Putting people to death for committing murder makes other potential murderers think twice about killing someone. Capital punishment deters many murders every day. If all that had to be done was spend life in jail, getting free meals, having a roof over their head, and place to sleep at night, then killing