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Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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The death penalty. What a controversial topic in itself. And that’s not even getting into how those sentenced are executed, which is what I would like to discuss- the form of execution. Specifically, death by firing squad. The pros, cons and why I believe it should be legal. Firstly, since 1976 only 3 inmates have been executed by firing squad opposed to the 1,227 executed by lethal injection in the United States. Why? It’s simple. It’s not legal, it is deemed unconstitutional according to the eighth amendment which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. Although it is deemed unconstitutional experts actually feel it may be the best form of execution. “Firing squad is the only execution method for which people are trained,” says the Fordham University law professor Deborah Denno, who studies lethal injection and other execution methods. “It’s the most certain, the most expert way of executing and from all we know it would be the quickest.” There have been two documented firing squad executions that could be considered “messed up” in a sense. One in 1879, when Wallace Wilkerson moved just enough for the executioners to miss his heart. Another happened in 1951 when the executioners misfired and hit the inmate in the …show more content…

I personally find it quicker and more humane. “The death probably happens within seconds,” says Dr. Jonathan Groner, a pediatric surgeon at The Ohio State University who studies such things “There is no way to measure the pain, but there’s anecdotal evidence that it’s less painful.” Dr. Groner tells us about multiple lethal injections that happened this past year, including the executions assigned to Clayton Lockett of Oklahoma and Dennis McGuire of Ohio, both of which caused prolonged deaths. During the execution all the witnesses described the inmates groaning and writhing on the execution table. And personally this is not a way I would like to go, would

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