Capital Punishment
"At 8:00 p.m. it was nearing the end of John Evans' last day on death row. He had spent most of the day with his minister and family, praying and talking of what was to come. At 8:20 he was walked from his cell down to the long hall to the execution room and strapped in the electric chair. At 8:30 p.m. the first jolt of 1900 volts passed through Mr. Evans' body. It lasted 30 seconds. Sparks and flames erupted from the electrode tied to Mr. Evans' leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the chair and his fist clenched permanently. The electrode then burst from the strap holding it in place. A large puff of gray smoke and sparks pored out from under the hood that covered his face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors then examined Mr. Evans and declared that he was not dead. The electrode was then refastened and Mr. Evans was given another 30-second jolt. The stench was nauseating. Again the doctors examined h
State sanctioned executions expose more of the violence and injustice that are in everyone. This phenomenon has been named the " brutalization hypothesis. These studies also imply that no factors other than the death penalty affect a state's murder rate. In Maryland, a comparison of capital trial costs for the years 1979-1984 concluded that a death penalty case costs around 42 percent more than a case resulting in a non-death sentence. There is no way to counter death but with life-we can mourn those who are lost by saving those who are left, by treasuring life, by literally discrediting the currency of death. That is why most studies comparing homicide rates to executions rates are not accurate (Vila & Morris, 1997, p. ) What he is saying in this quote is that a state cannot better society when it is taking part in such a savage and irreversible act as capital punishment. The long process of conviction is very important due to the fact that the wrongly accused need a chance to plead their cases. These true accounts tell how capital punishment degrades all of society. For these reasons capital punishment is not an affordable from of punishment (Bedau, 1999, November 10). For these reasons the United States should follow the lead and abolish capital punishment. Since 1900, in this country alone, there have been, on the average, more than four cases a year in which an entirely innocent person has been convicted of a murder. Capital punishment goes against the morals and standards that our country is based upon. Also, states with no death penalty had a lower average murder rate than those with a death penalty being 4.
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