Death Penalty Mistakes

     The taking of a person's life is unreliable and once a mistake is made, nothing can be done to make up for it, because you have taken the person's life. Current statistics show that for every 7 people executed one has been released from death row. One in seven does not sound like never good consistency to me, and how many of the 6 still executed could still be innocent? I feel that the death of innocents cannot be justified by the death penalty. A recent study at Columbia University found that two thirds of capital cases had serious errors in them, two thirds does not sound like a very consistent number that I would

In the last several years, too many people in the United States have been wrongfully sentenced with the death penalty. Several accused have their sentence overturned or they have been totally exonerated. There are at least 8 people who were executed by United States and later proven innocent (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org). Over a 20 year period, 68% of all death sentences were reversed (http://karisable.com). A noteworthy example is of Jerry Banks who was convicted and sentenced with the death penalty for two counts of murder in 1975. Five years later, in 1980, Banks' conviction was overturned on the basis of newly discovered evidence which was allegedly known to the state at the time of trial. Another example was the case of Lawyer Johnson who was sentenced to death in 1971 by an all white jury for the murder of a white victim. Later in 1982, Johnson’s conviction was overturned and Johnson exonerated when a previously silent eyewitness identified the state’s chief witness as the real murderer. (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org) Human error is inevitable, particularly

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?

“Since 1973, more than 155 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence” (the death penalty information center). The lives of many innocent people are being put at risk when prosecutors would “think” that a person have committed a certain crime and he/she is guilty for it, without even having enough evidence that points out they did it. This shows that our justice system is not as strong as we think it is. The death penalty is irreversible. Once a

Kirk Bloodsworth was 22 when he spent eight years in prison, two of those on death row. He was wrongfully convicted. A 9-year old girl was raped and killed on July 25, 1984. Two boys had seen her walking with a man before she suddenly disappeared. The boys described the man to the police and the police came to the conclusion that the murderer was Bloodsworth. He repeatedly claimed he was innocent but he was found guilty and sentenced to death on March, 1985. After 8 years he finally proved he was innocent through DNA testing. He was released from prison on June 1993. He was paid 300,000 dollars (“Correcting”). The US should not institute the death penalty everywhere in the country because it would put us at risk of executing innocent people, costs us millions of dollars in administering the penalty and there is a better way to help the families of murder victims.

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?

The risk of innocent people being sentenced is high. About 14% of executions were of the innocent, and they weren’t found out until long after their execution. This supports my claim because too many innocent people are being executed against their will, and most of them aren’t even involved with the murder, just innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In conclusion, there is just too much risk of innocent bystanders being executed for doing nothing wrong, and we should get the facts and evidence straight before we go kill an innocent

First in foremost, the use of capital punishment harms the innocent. Ignoring the obvious for a second on this topic, executing the innocent, the death penalty affects everyone involved. Take for example the case Semon Thompson,

Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but what happens when an innocent man is killed in regards to a crime he never committed? It’s a mistake that can never be corrected. Wilbert Coffin was sent to jail and then killed for being wrongfully convicted of murdering a man in 1953. The death penalty will not only kill the guilty, but the innocent as well. The death penalty is wrong.

The death penalty can lead to the death of innocent people. For example, “…According to a new study, serious errors occur in almost 70% of all trials leading to the death penalty…”(Leibman). This shows that if 100 people were put on death row, 70 would have serious mistakes in their

Great post! I just wanted to add to how long it actually takes for someone to be executed. Typically, an individual on death row spends over a decade waiting to be executed. Because of the of appeals process it extends the amount of time the inmate must await executions. Due to the extensive wait time a number of inmates never actually make it to execution they die of natural causes, suicide, or are killed by other inmates. However, without thorough appeals mistakes can be made and innocent people could be executed.

Every single death row inmates face executions there have been cases that many innocent individuals is waiting to be executed or has been executed. Research lead by Samul Gross, a professor at the University of Michigan Law school stated that “At least 4.1% of all defendants sentenced to death in the US in the modern era are innocent” (Capital Punishment). But not all men and woman run the same faith; there have been many cases where inmates on death row get a second opportunity in life and get exonerated from death row. For example “As of today, 150 individuals have been exonerated from death row” (National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). Another significant factor that there is a lot of innocent people on death row it has to do with a false eyewitness and authorities pressuring victims. For example, Kirk Bloodsworth from Maryland who was convicted of a crime he didn't commit in 1984, he was sent to death row by a “false eyewitness identification.” (National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). How about the case of Ruben Cantu a 17-year-old who has never convicted of crimes. On till he was framed with a capital murder case that took place on November 8, 1984, and sentenced of the murderer. One of the victims and only survivor of the crime gave his statement that Cantu was the killer, he was pressured by the authorities to place Cantu in the scene of the crime. “He

"Since 1973, over eighty people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence" (Innocence and the Death Penalty 1). Statistics say that of the three-thousand six hundred people on death row right now, at least one hundred of them are innocent (Capital Punishment 1). When an innocent person is executed, the real killer is still on the streets ready to victimize someone else (Pragmatic Arguments 1). The most important problem is that when an innocent person is executed, they represent another human being who did not deserve to die.

The punishment reserved for the worst offenders can be either the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Today, there are thirty-two states that choose to execute criminals for their horrendous crimes and eighteen states that use life without parole to punish those who committed the worst crimes. Life without parole often called “Civil Death” is a punishment that specifies that offenders will spend the remainder of their life in Jail, while death penalty is a punishment allowing to put offenders on the death row for crimes they committed. At first sight death penalty and life without parole seem different but they have more in common than what meets the eyes. First, death penalty and life without parole are both the highest form of

Although one might think that capital punishment leads to innocent deaths, this is completely false. People against capital punishment constantly claim that there have been numerous cases in which we have executed an innocent man. But the truth is that we do not have any records of ever executing an innocent man. The idea that innocent people can get executed on accident is highly false and inaccurate. Also, it is perceived that capital punishment takes away freedom