The Death Penalty And Wrongful Convictions

It may have seemed like a clear verdict, but nine years later, he was found innocent and pardoned, the first man ever to be released from death row. Nine years later, he describes his time in prison as “Hell on Earth” (Bloodsworth). Nine years later, he faces a system in which his case is but one of the numerous wrongful convictions that take place or have taken place in this country. Ladies and gentlemen, nine years later, wrongful convictions are absolutely a problem in the United States, one that, every day, costs innocent people their freedom.

More than two centuries ago, the death penalty was commonplace in the United States, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. In the article “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?”, Diann Rust-Tierney argues that it should be abolished, and Joshua Marquis argues that it should not be abolished. Although the death penalty is prone to error and discrimination, the death penalty should not be abolished because several studies show that the death penalty has a clear deterrent effect, and we need capital punishment for those certain cases in which a killer is beyond redemption.

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

Certainly, the studies of wrongful conviction have been able to generate press coverage especially when the findings tell the story of an innocent defendant who narrowly escaped a death sentence. Due to the fact that much of the American public assumes that it is not at risk for a wrongful conviction, few of those stories have “legs” to breed sufficient interest in reform. In this assumption the public is correct. Notwithstanding the claims of some reformers that anyone of us could be subject to a wrongful conviction, the research actually suggests that most individuals have little to fear. Indeed, the most recent national study of wrongful convictions shows that individuals with a prior criminal record are at the greatest risk of being wrongful convicted (Gould et

Each year, approximately about 10,000 innocent people in the United States get convicted of serious crimes that they did not commit. And at least four percent of them receive the death penalty being completely innocent. Scenarios like this happen all the time because there are more and more false persecutions each day which can be easily avoided. Many people are occupying prisons all over the world, for felonies they did not execute. More than 200 people have been exonerated through DNA testing nationwide. But why do these wrongful convictions keep happening?

False convictions are an ongoing dilemma in criminal cases. The available research is a significant barrier to understanding the prevalence of suspects being convicted of crimes they did not commit. Ethical considerations and variations in individual law enforcement agency policies contribute to the limited availability of records that often are fragmented, incomplete, and difficult to translate. Critical Information does not flow fluidly across the over the 3,000 counties represented in the United States. The multifaceted nature of crimes results in unlimited categorical variables that may influence outcomes of cases and pose extreme difficulty in uncovering mistaken convictions. There is an overwhelming lack of satisfactory data demonstrating that due process safeguards reach a standard in which capital punishment can be upheld as a constitutional, ethical, and moral option for the overall carriage of justice. The opposite is true, the speculative character and lack of concrete research about false convictions are proof that capital punishment, in the face of executions of innocent human beings, is a negligent, illegitimate, and unjust punishment that should be abolished.

In the article "The Case Against the Death Penalty," which shows up in Crime and Criminals: Opposing Viewpoints, Eric Freedman contends that capital punishment does not discourage fierce crime as well as conflicts with decreasing the crime rate. This essay will analyse Freedman 's article from the perspectives of a working man, a needy individual, and a government official.

Can anyone imagine the life of an individual suffering in prison knowing they are actually innocent from the very beginning of trial, but the judge still sentences them to twenty years in prison or the death penalty? The teenage years and mid-twenties heading into the thirties are supposed to be the best time in life for any individual, but also imagine all of those years taken away because the time spent in prison. No marriage, no more activities with kids or watching them grow up, can’t travel anywhere for vacation, all the holidays with family will disappear and other lifetime activities are gone as well. Wrongful conviction has been a huge issue for centuries now and the criminal justice system has not changed anything to help improve the innocent people walking away free. This paper will be addressing the problems of wrongful conviction in America such as wrongful convicts not receiving their compensation, capital punishment, the innocence movement, and cases that involve wrongful conviction, although, there are many cases that still have been unsolved with innocent people suffering in prison. Today in the United States, there are wrongful conviction reforms to help free innocent people who are behind bars and those who are standing against the death penalty.

In Stephen Bright’s article, “The Death Penalty as the Answer to Crime: Costly, Counterproductive, and Corrupting” Bright asserts that capital punishment does not work because it is racially biased, the quality of the lawyers and attorneys supplied by the state to poor defendants is unfair, and that the law system currently in place does not accomplish its true goals. Bright defends his claim with logos and ethos by examining the opinions of judges and district attorneys, and by describing experience within the fields of human rights and law himself in order to persuade the reader to take up more cases for those on death row. Given the language used in this article Bright is writing to an audience with intermediate to professional experience within the field of law, and a willingness to adopt a new idea on the constitutionality behind the death penalty.

I realize that the death penalty can be a troublesome subject that may have people in this world divided. While there are many people who support it and there are those who are against it. Today crime has turned out to be a major problem in this country. If people want to commit crimes shouldn’t they do the time? But to dig a little deeper crimes and penalties are difficulties that stem from race, prejudice, beliefs, etc. Today’s criminal justice system has a lot of loop holes in it. Therefore, gang bangers, drug dealers, rapist, sex offenders are back on the streets. Lawyers are slightly responsible for why that is. Most lawyer’s will enable them to get away with their wrongdoings. The death penalty is good at a certain extent. I trust

To summarize although many argue that capital punishment is needed, the truth is innocence people are put on death row from horrible evidence and are sometimes executed from the false evidence. Capital punishment is instituted by a corrupt legal system, is extremely inhumane, and costs too much money. The death penalty needs to be eliminated from the United States’ legal system right

Those who oppose the death penalty claim that it is not an effective deterrent, while supporters claim that it is the most effective deterrent in existence. Further, does man have the right to determine another man’s fate as a means of punishment? How do we know the person to be executed is absolutely guilty without question? There have been numerous exonerations of wrongly accused individuals on death row as well as innocent individuals executed. On the other hand, one must consider the victim and the victim’s family. While nothing can justify taking a life, those who suffer as a result of a homicide seek justice. Over the course of this research, opposition and support will be explained and evaluated. While exploring both sides, one

When it comes to the topic of the Death Penalty, most of us will readily agree that people who take someone’s life should be punished the same way. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of if this is what they really deserve. Whereas some are convinced that this is what needs to happen so these criminals can learn the true value of the crime they have committed, others maintain that these felons should not be given the death penalty, since many of them is what they want.

Capital punishment has been a recurring, controversial issue throughout the history of the United States of America. When an individual is accused for a heinous crime such as murder, one of their sentences could possibly be the death penalty. Taking a life for a life seems simple on the surface, but in reality, there are many setbacks and controversies that come with it. Capital punishment has been around for a while but it hasn’t been contested as much as it has today. People who are for the death penalty believe that these criminals are a threat to society and should be terminated. People who are against the death penalty often believe that taking someone’s life is cruel and unusual punishment, thus being unconstitutional. Despite the feud between the two arguments, capital punishment still persists in many states in the US today. There are some people who are even caught in the middle of the two opposing arguments. The issue is often brought up in courts and is constantly bothersome to the political process of the United States. Also, it is one of the most dire and important issues that are consistently brought up in the media today. Due the mass amounts of controversy this topic receives, it should be a problem that the United States makes a priority to resolve.