Keeping a prisoner in jail for life will be very expensive considering that it costs $80,000 a year; and the bad news is that the money comes from the taxpayer's pocket. Thousands of people will attack the death penalty. They will give emotional speeches about the one innocent man who might be executed. However, all of these people are forgetting one crucial element. They are forgetting the thousands of victims who die every year. This may sound awkward, but the death penalty saves lives. It saves lives because it stops those who murder from ever murdering again (Bryant). These opinions represent some of the strongest and most influential views that proponents hold. However, if our prison system could rehabilitate more effectively, perhaps those who murdered once, could change.
Finally, I believe that by being rehabilitated the juvenile will have a better chance at life because eventually they will be back in society.
Approximately 10,000 people in the United States may be wrongfully convicted of different crimes each year. Just like Kirk, most of these innocent people are mistakenly arrested because of errors of eyewitnesses. “The study also found that the most important factor leading to wrongful conviction is eyewitness misidentification” (spring). Kirk Bloodsworth landed in prison because of the two boys that confused him with the man that actually committed the crime. If all these 10,000 that may be wrongfully convicted people were actually sentenced to death, it would have been too late before they were proved innocent. Some individuals that were actually executed while having strong evidence of innocence include: Carlos DeLuna, Ruben Cantu, Larry Griffin, Joseph O'Dell, David Spence, Leo Jones, Gary Graham, Claude Jones, Cameron Willingham, Troy Davis and Lester Bower (“Executed”). They lost their lives because of human error. Even if they were released while still alive, no amount of money could return the amount of time they’ve lost from each of their lives. This is also a general justice system problem.
In the future, one can only hope the criminal justice system more accurately endures a punishment to fit the horrific crime. The only thing he deserves is to suffer in an isolated cell with no contact to the world for the rest of his pathetic
John smith is a 14 year old boy living with an unstable family. His mom deals drugs and his dad is a drug addict. As a result, he lives in a ghetto neighborhood and hung out with bad company. He was convinced to take part in a house robbery. He was the look out like Steve Harmon in the book Monster. When he was on the look out his friend killed two of the people who lived in the house. Therefor John was charged as an adult and convicted to life in jail. His whole life is down the drain. John is 14 and doesn't know what he is getting himself into. He will be abused and raped because he is so young and weak compared to the other cell mates. He is also at the age where he still needs his body to develop but in jail it will not develop right so then he will not be healthy. At the time he did not know what he was getting into so he thought his friend was just going to go in and go out. But that did not happen. I think that kids at Johns age should not be charged as adults because even though John did a crime he was not the one who killed the
For many years now, the criminal justice system has become stricter, causing more and more people to be arrested and sentenced to prison. As prisons become more occupied, the living conditions, health, and treatment of prisoners starts to deteriorate, which has become a trend over the last few decades. However, President Obama has noticed this prison environment and has taken a stand in saying that something needs to be done about it. Though many people would argue that prison reform is unnecessary because prisoners deserve to be treated poorly, there is sufficient evidence that shows that the current conditions end up doing more harm mentally and physically to the
Soon I’ll be ready to go see my friend and I have a tough decision to make. It’s not a problem to come up with the money for his bail. However, he has to know that he can’t do something like this ever again. Also if he say’s it was a mistake and he’s willing to fix it then there’s no better platform then back out in society bettering himself. I do believe everyone deserves a second chance to fix their wrong
Villafana 1 Sarai Villafana Mrs. Kehmeyer ERWC 6 March 2015 Juvenile Justice research paper Minority disagrees that juveniles should have a second chance, but to be punished with a sentence to life in prison.As Latio stated,” Even a 17 and a half year old who sets off a bomb in a crowded mall or guns down a dozen students and teacher is a child and must be given a chance to persuade a judge to permit his release into society..” I strongly believe everyone within the years of 17 and younger should be able to have a second chance. The supreme court is on the right path to abolish mandatory life in prison for juveniles who commit murder. As Lundstrom states, “ but it can be used as evidence that teenagers are not yet adults, and the legal system should not treat them as such” (Lundstrom 88).
State governments should provide compensation to the wrongfully convicted because it is their system that wasted the lives and took everything from these people. In “Reparations/Compensation for the Wrongfully Convicted: Overview”, by Tsin Yen Koh, we see the early process of compensation laws and its history followed by our current laws and its different ways of registering for these reparations. The article first tells about how people began to notice wrongful convictions after a man first looked into one of these cases. Then, people noticed the wide range of mistaken sentences and began to use DNA tests to support these claims. After the majority of these inmates had the same wrongful story, George W. Bush passed a law that would help with
To start, there was not a fair trial offered. Ybanez and his father had a very poor relationship, and his father hired his lawyer. Erik Jensen was charged with more than he deserved due
Greg’s story is one to be spreader around to show other juveniles that there always is a second chance, but you have to fight for it. With this in mind I think we should diminish life sentences that do not offer a chance of parole because everyone deserves a second chance, especially if they worked long and hard to get it like Greg did.
Multiple people have been sentenced to 10 years in Prison for their awful crimes. Some robbed banks while others were killing innocent souls, but it was a completely different story for this one teen. He was brutally beaten by his friends and then they used his money for Drugs, Alcohol, and Cigars. After all of the ruckus he was then framed for selling Cigars and Alcohol to underaged kids. His friends lied about their ages just so they could keep the goods and get more money out of the teen as well. This teen had lost all of his friends, his money, and now is spending 10 years in Prison or so he thinks. His life will change his past but will also change his future as well. The teen was always named “Blank” and no one seemed to really bother
There are certain unforgivable things in life, such as pineapple on pizza. That being said, there is plenty of room for second chances for juvenile delinquents in the court of law. There are many reasons as to why juvenile delinquency leniency is advised, and in certain circumstances more serious crimes should be absolved. For starters, life without parole sentences should be reserved as punishment for the scum of the earth, which is seldom the case for many sentenced young criminals. In the majority, these children are not completely at fault for the consequence of their actions due to underdeveloped minds, outside influences, and ignorance of consequence; therefore should be evaluated accordingly.
When an innocent individual is incarcerated, it is an injustice to the individual being sentenced, the relatives of the sentenced, and the criminal justice system altogether. Years may pass and new evidence will be presented such as DNA testing and it will have confirmed that individual as innocent exonerated of their crimes. The challenge of being incarcerated is for the individual to make a change into a “normal” life which many times can be hard. Not only should our society do its part to improve the criminal justice system but also to support the responsibility in restoring those who have served their time under a wrong conviction. If there is anything we as a society should also provide to these once incarcerated, it is payment