Although the death penalty is currently enforced in nearly ¾ of the 50 States, I disagree with it. Capital punishment either puts the guilty out of their misery or the innocent 6 feet under. We could easily be putting people to death who are innocent. Statistics show that during the past 25 years, 69 people who had been sentenced to death in the United States were eventually found to be innocent and released from their death-row prison cells. Since 1973, about 6,000 people have been sentenced to death in this country. At that rate, more than one of every 100 death-row inmates awaiting execution is innocent.
             I think that life in prison is a better punishment than the death penalty. If someone is convicted of murder, how can we punish him with the same crime as he committed? That sounds hypocritical. Beazley Napolean was executed in Texas in May of this year. In his final statement he had this to say, "Tonight we tell the world that there are no second chances in the eyes of justice...Tonight, we tell our children that in some instances, in some cases, killing is right."
             Some people argue that the death penalty lowers the murder rate. I don't see any evidence of that. In fact, in Texas, 3 people were 'texecuted' in 1996 and by 2000 the number jumped to 40. That shows that we are punishing more people for committing more crimes. By picking and choosing among the available facts, we can make a compelling case for either side. But looking at all of the available facts with any impartiality, we can only conclude that the evidence as a whole does not support the contention that capital punishment prevents murder; at least, not in any way we can rely on.
             My closing argument is simply this; capital punishment is neither moral nor beneficial. It teaches children the concept of an eye for an eye. Hasn't our country been known as a sovereign nation to other foreign countries? Sovereignty seems to play...