Old Sparky and Gruesome Gertie (affectionate names for the electric chair) have taken the lives of many, even the innocent (Finnerty 18). They are prejudiced and lack compassion. However, many Americans believe that they represent justice. Capital punishment does not represent justice, but vengeance and hate. Among the 7,000 people estimated to have been killed in the United States between 1900 and 1985, at least 23 were innocent (Finnerty 18). In at least 8 of 261 executions performed since 1976, something went wrong; for example, the executioner couldn't find a good vein, or the first jolt of electricity failed to do the trick (Finnerty 18). An innocent person, let alone 23 that were wrongfully executed might seem insignificant to one. Just for a moment think if that one person was your brother or father, and they were innocent! Would you then see that the American judicial system is imperfect, and that capital punishment should be abolished? Capital punishment is wrong and should be abolished because of its imperfections, high cost, and immoral existence.
Many people argue that we should keep practicing capital punishment because it would be a waste of money to sentence someone to life in prison. Fa
. . .
Racism is no stranger to capital punishment. Violence begets violence, and murder begets murder. People insist that we need strict laws to deter people from committing murder. What if one of those lives was your brother's, father's, mother's, or even yours? Would you then change your opinion on capital punishment?
Apart from just ordinary people who are killed, capital punishment is practiced on those who are mentally retarded. The cost of state execution is up to three times the cost of lifetime imprisonment (Dority 37). The reason that people in America are so in favor of capital punishment is because they are not aware of the facts about it. And the number of police, prison guards, and inmates killed is higher in death penalty states. We are talking about 23 innocent lives that were taken away. We are saying that revenge is justifiable. Capital punishment is an ineffective deterrent that only demonstrates violence for society (Dority 37). In an article entitled "Not in My Name," written by Barbara Dority, she concluded:
The death penalty is not an effective deterrent and, in fact, creates an atmosphere that encourages and fosters violence. The reason that life imprisonment is cheaper than the death penalty is due to the cost of appeals. In an article entitled "The Death Penalty," written by Katie Monagle, she discovered:
In a landmark study on the application of the death penalty, University of Iowa professor David Baldus examined all capital cases in Georgia from 1973 to 1979. I do not see how anyone could be in favor of it and call themselves a human being.
Approximate Word count =
1097
Approximate Pages =
4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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