Persuasive Essay Against Death Penalty

The death penalty disproportionately targets minorities especially African Americans. In the United States of America there is an unequal and unfair burden against African Americans in the criminal justice system. In 2011, African Americans were only 13.6% of the American population (Rastogi, Johnson, Hoeffel, & Drewery, 2011). However, African Americans in 2011 made up 42% of the total death row population (Snell, 2011). Although a minority of the total population in the United States, African Americans make the majority of inmates on death row facing execution. Furthermore, the death penalty in many states is used as tool that following the racial legacy of Jim Crow laws. Sentences resulting in death are higher in states with a history of lynching (Schweizer 92). States with a history of lynching are predominately found in the Southern United states. The Southern United states has the highest population of death row inmates. In 2009 alone there were 1,630 inmates currently on death row in the South compared to 226 in the North and only 988 in the West (Schweizer 92). In addition, the race of the victim often will determine the sentence. Results from the Baldus Study suggested evidence of racial disparity in the state of Georgia based on the victims race (Schweizer 92). The Baldus study argued African American defendants who committed murdered white individuals had much higher probability of receiving the death penalty. Prosecutors in Georgia pursued a verdict of death in 80% of their cases if the defendant was African American and the victim was white (Schweizer 92). This is purely racial discrimination and prejudice. Finally, “Since 1977, the overwhelming majority (77%) off death row defendants have been executed for killing white victims, even though African Americans make up about half of all homicide victims (Amnesty International).”The race of the both the victim and perpetrator in criminal is irrelevant.

There are many cases in which people spent years in prison for the crimes they did not commit. Death penalty is permanent and cannot be undone. Many people have been proven innocence after the execution is carried out. If an innocent criminal has received a life sentence then he has the opportunity to be proven innocence in future with more advance investigation. For example in U.S as of September 11, 273 people including 17 death row inmates were exonerated by doing DNA testing. The use of DNA testing helps to confirm if a person is innocent and not sentence him to death. Likewise, in near future with more advance technologies someone can be proven

The death penalty, by definition, is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. Each state has their own determinates of why someone would be given the death penalty, for example, in Missouri, it is first degree murder, but for Alabama it is intentional murder with 18 aggravating factors.

The death penalty is a controversial topic that has been brought to the United States Supreme Court many times. According to the Oxford dictionary, the death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime . Usually the death penalty is administered for murder, attempted murder, or intent to kill. It started off being administered by hanging, but then evolved to the electric chair and is now administered through lethal injection. From 1940 to 2014, approximately 3,771 people have been legally executed in the United States. Throughout the years, many things have been determined about the death penalty. The first being that it violates human rights. The second is that innocent lives cannot be brought back. And the third is the large possibility of a biased jury. There have been many cases that support these three points which I will address later. So, based on Supreme Court rulings, the death penalty is unconstitutional and should not continue to be legal.

"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.

Since the beginning of time there has always been the question of what to do with someone that has committed a serious offense that has resulted in serious injury or even death to a person. The death penalty has always been a topic of whether it is humane or inhumane to put someone to death over their crimes against another human being. The death penalty to some is either acceptable to where a person should be put t death for their crimes or is not doing anything to deter people from committing crimes. the death penalty is starting to become less of a punishment and more of a costly expense to taxpayers whom for “Each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million.” The death penalty for some think it should be abolished while others would rather see it extended.

Today’s justice system is a complex system that has many problems and isn’t perfect. The hardest part of the justice system today is to determine if an individual is guilty or innocent. The death penalty is thought to sway or scare individuals into following the law and to avoid the chance of being put to death. The death penalty is an invalid act set towards

The death penalty is used when the criminal has crimes such as terrorism, federal murder, and large scale drug trafficking. The those that have committed these crimes need more than just a quick easy exit. Spending a lifetime in prison will allow the offender to become a victim of mental health issues such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia. Suffering from these types of disorders is a punishment beyond the cruelty of death. Not dying during an execution is absurd but it has happened, there is a 3.15% of the death sentence failing. There have been 276 botched executions, leaving the criminal in a fatal and gruesome state.

Since 1976, more than 1,000 people have been executed innocently, and there is no way to tell if they were innocent or not (www.deathpenaltyinfor.org/executed-possibly-innocnent). Once a prisoner is killed from death penalty, nothing can be done to fix the mistakes that have been made (www.deathpenaltycurriculum.org). “At least 121 people have been taken off the death row list, because of their innocence since 1973, and for every 8 executions, at least one person has been convicted for no reason,” states

The Death Penalty has been used in the United States since the very foundation of our nation; the first recorded case was the execution of Captain George Kendall in 1608 in the Jamestown colony as it was believed Kendall was a spy (DPIC). Americans have seen executions throughout history and are somewhat exposed to the idea but the 21st century is a very different place than the 17th century. This century is a time of equality and rights for people of all

I am a staunch supporter of the death penalty and capital punishment as it is probably the ultimate punishment when it comes to crimes. The death penalty is also a great deterrent for crime when you think about it. A lot of people who break the law do so because they’re not afraid to go to prison because most of the time they can just get out after serving their sentence and go back to breaking the law. But if people knew that they wouldn’t come back from their punishment after it then they’d probably think a lot more about breaking the law. Which leads me to not only support the death penalty but also extend it to other crimes like drug dealers, not drug users but drug dealers. We’d have to have a system for it though because killing someone just because they sold drugs doesn’t exactly sound morally right. So what we do is if someone is caught dealing drugs then they get the normal penalty that you get today, second time they get the same penalty they got doubled. But third time and there out, this evens it out a little as in my opinion as drug dealing isn’t on the same level as first degree murder but is definitely a problem that needs to be fixed and this in my mind seems like a good way to further the war on drugs. Rape may be a bit of a gray area for some as i’ve heard of people for rapists getting the death penalty and being against it. I personally don’t think it deserves the death penalty but some people do. The two crimes of drug dealing and murder are the only ones

The death penalty—a controversial response to heinous crimes like murder. Its use and consequences are often debated and researched. In this essay I will be synthesizing the information we have about the death penalty and its use. I will also examine the integrity behind the arguments for and against its use, as well. First we’ll look at which places around the world are still practicing this capital punishment and the trends of its use across time. Then we’ll examine the components of the death penalty as well as the basic process it entails. We’ll then cover the main arguments for and against the use of the death penalty and the empirical evidence and integrity of each.

According to Deathpenaltyinfo.org, as of July 1st, 2017 there were approximately 2,817 prisoners on death row. CNN.com says that, as of now, the death penalty is only legal in 31 out of the 50 states. Did you know that the average death row inmate will spend roughly 15 years in prison before they meet their final day; nearly a quarter of death row inmates die of natural causes while waiting for execution, and exhausting all of their appeals? How about that in Virginia death row inmates are now able to play games, watch TV, send emails, and have physical contact with visitors along with much more? Death row is for criminals that have committed heinous crimes and have been convicted by 12 unanimous jurors to death. So, why give them that many privileges?

The death penalty is a last resort punishment or is used to protect civilians from criminals having the opportunity to kill again. It is used on those only most deserving. Those considered deserving are cold blooded killers. Dick Hickock stood by and aided Perry Smith as he brutally murdered a family of four, the Clutter family, in their own home. These men never intended on the murders occurring, they hold no regard for the horrible things they have done, and they are dangers to society.

The death penalty is a prosecute that is used to kill criminals that have committed crimes that are so bad they should not be left alive. The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond my understanding. Knowing that it must be painful, dehumanizing, and sickening. The Eight Amendment says” Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Constitutions). And for the article Changing Views on\\e rate has gone down at a steady from the 1990 to now and that they death penalty is sometimes necessary, and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done.