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Should The Death Penalty Be Outlawed?

Decent Essays

Desmond Tutu, a social rights activist said, “To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.” The death penalty does not reduce crime, restore families, or bring justice to the victims. The death penalty has been used as punishment for criminals who have later been exonerated after their execution. Since many death row cases are being reversed, the death penalty should be outlawed as a means for punishment. If the death penalty is outlawed, many innocent lives could be saved and more victims and their families will receive the justice they deserve.
The death penalty has been given as a form of punishment to people who have been accused of heinous crimes. Due to the justice system being flawed, many people have been exonerated …show more content…

Davis was accused of killing a police officer in Savannah, Georgia on August 19, 1989. He was prosecuted and executed despite serious doubts and inconsistency in witness testimony at the time of his trial. He was on death row for 22 years and on September 21, 2011 he was executed for a crime many believe he did not commit. (“Family, Friends…”) Since many believe Troy Davis died an innocent man, outrage over the death penalty has sparked all over the country. The day following Davis’s death, more than 1000 people gathered in New York City to commemorate the death of Troy Davis and to denounce the failures of the justice system. (“Democracy Now”) Once a person has been executed, lawyers and investigators close the case and move on, so families will never have full closure if their loved ones are actually innocent or not. Since Davis’s execution, many people and families have experienced the same injustice that Troy Davis and his family experienced. Another man, who received the same injustice as Davis, is Carlos DeLuna, who was executed in Texas in 1989 for the stabbing of Wanda Lopez. Columbia Law School Professor, James Liebman, and his students found that DeLuna did die an innocent man. (“Wrongful Executions”) False eyewitness testimony, police investigation mistakes, and missing information, once again, led to the execution of an innocent man. Before DeLuna was executed, he insisted he was innocent and that the real murderer is Carlos Hernandez. After DeLuna’s execution, many came to believe Hernandez was the killer, but prosecutors refused to pursue. Due to many mistakes in the justice system, an innocent man was executed and a guilty man was allowed to freely walk around committing more crimes. Many believe the justice system is too flawed to be allowed to kill people who have the possibility of being innocent. The death penalty has too much room for error, and when

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