The Denalty And The Death Penalty

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.

In Oklahoma, Greg Wilhoit serves as an inspiration to end the infamous capital punishment. His wife was viciously murdered in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the 1st of June. Greg was alleged for the death of his spouse, and was found guilty when the bite marks found on his wife’s body matched his teeth. He was then put in jail and was sentenced to death in 8 years. However it was proven wrong and he successfully won the case, but he didn’t win the nightmarish trauma that strongly affected his mentality during those forlorn 8 years of false accusation. It led him to depression and eventually his miserable demise. Greg’s case is an example of an inaccurate and flawed judgment of death penalty. Everyone deserves a second chance, less allegations which cause wrong executions, and reverence to human rights.

On June 1, 1985 Kathy Wilhoit was murdered. Greg Wilhot was left a single father to care for his four months old and fourteen months old. Nearly a year after Kathy was murdered Greg was accused, arrested and charged with the murder. The evidence to convict Greg of murder was a bite mark on Kathy’s body, that two dental “experts” matched with Greg's bite. This man was behind bars with two young daughters at home, so his parents decided to hire one of Oklahoma’s “best” defense attorneys. Unfortunately this attorney had taken to drinking and neglected his responsibilities as a lawyer. Greg Wilhoit was sentenced to death. In an article by Nancy Vollertsen, Greg's sister, she wrote a quote from Greg saying “"At the sentencing," Wilhoit said, "the judge told me I was to die by lethal injection. Then he said, 'But if that fails, we'll kill you by electrocution. If the power goes out, we'll hang you. If the rope breaks, we'll take you out back and shoot you.'" Needless to say after eight years in prison twelve new odontologists found that the bite mark could not be Greg’s. Unfortunately, these cases of finding innocent men guilty and are all too common. Luckily, Greg was exonerated before he received his incorrect punishment of death. (Vollersten) Though Greg was lucky, that is not always the case with capital punishment and innocent men are convicted and killed. Capital punishment it too subjective to mistakes and biases to be taken into consideration. As well

The death penalty, formally reflected as capital punishment, is one of the most controversial issues in America. The debate about capital punishment has been going on for decades with both sides arguing for their claim. Death sentences are usually handed out to those who have committed a capital crime; however, the death penalty shouldn’t be so easily considered based on the margin of possible error that can be made in the process. It has been proven, and not everything is one hundred percent. There are flaws in the criminal justice system, and the fact that we use the Adversarial system in which the prosecution and defense pick and choose what will be presented should be taken into account. Even though some people may believe capital

Capital punishment has been a part of the U.S criminal justice system for centuries. The death penalty has been the most controversial aspect. The death penalty is legal in 33 states but the rest of the 19 states abolished it. There are over half of Americans that support the death penalty while the rest of them believe that it is unacceptable. People who support the death penalty believe that capital punishment lowers future crime rates, but people who are against it believe that it is a cruel and think innocent people could be mistakenly put to death for something they did not do. Capital punishment should be allowed because it saves lives, decrease the homicide rate, and saves more money for the government.

According to a 1987 study published in the Stanford Law Review, at least 23 non-culpable individuals have been executed from 1900 to 1987, which is more than one innocent execution every four years. These miscarriages of justice are often due to evidence that was not discovered or made available until after the execution. Although recent scientific improvements, such as forensic DNA evidence, have enabled investigators to more accurately pinpoint guilt in a suspect, no current amount of scientific or technological advancement can completely guarantee that errors will never be made. In an issue such as the death penalty, where the stakes are so high – human life – any margin of error, no matter how minuscule, is unacceptable.

The death row in California houses more than 660 prisoners, but not a single inmate has been executed in nearly two years. In Pennsylvania, which houses 226 inmates on death row, there has not been a sentence carried out since the ‘90s (Von Drehle, 2008). A spree killer named William Elledge, who admitted to his crimes and has openly expressed his guilt in interviews, completed his 33rd year on death row in Florida in 2008, with his appeals still on the table. Elledge is one of about 55 men in Florida with more than 25 years on death row (Von Drehle,

Capital punishment or the death penalty is a legal process where a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime that person has committed. Forms of Capital punishment has been around for hundreds of years. Execution of criminals have been used by almost every society that has ever existed. People were executed for all types of crimes from being accused of witch craft to lying. In some cases a vast amount of people were put to death with capital punishment. In the 20th century tens of millions of people were killed by mass capital punishment. The holocaust was a very good example of mass murders for virtually no reason. Capital punishment can be good and some ways but very bad in many ways.

Executioners are often not medically trained, and might sometimes have difficulty finding a suitable vein to insert the needle. This means that inmates may be stabbed multiple times.

In this paper, I will write on the topic of capital punishment, more specifically what to do if someone has been wrongfully executed. I will speak about what circumstances I feel should warrant a case be reopened and how to make it right, if it is determined that someone has been wrongfully put to death for a crime they did not commit. I will also discuss reparations for the families of the wrongfully executed. I will also discuss who I feel should be handling these types of cases.

Although the death penalty may be a reasonable punishment for most capital crimes, the high costs and problematic process that follows outweighs the potential benefits of any deterrents. Richard Dieter, the Death Penalty Information Center’s director, rationalizes the death penalty by stating, “[the public] generally support [the death penalty] in theory, but in practice they have deep concerns” (Jost 968). This reveals the true feelings of contradictory and doubt behind most of the people who support capital punishment have towards the complicated and flaw infested process. Many of these supporters try to justify some of the problems dealing with the death penalty by indicting the high price and ongoing trials are only the cause of death penalty lawyers trying to hinder more money out of these cases or attempting to delay their client 's death. While many of these supporters believe these blockages are not truly necessary for these

Capital punishment which furthermore identifies as the death penalty, execution has been a hot topic in the public eye for a while. The question on lots of minds is whether it is acceptable for the state to terminate one’s life for the crime they have committed. A significant issue that we will address is that the justice system over time formulates mistakes. Whether it’s processing the evidence improperly or missing an enormous piece of the puzzle, making mistakes can happen. If the justice system executed an innocent there is no way for it to redeem itself. There is no way for a person to be brought back to life. As I began to research further into this issue, I became aware that plenty of people agree with the idea of capital punishment being endorsed; however, I believe asking this question will be the key to finally finding closure to this issue.

Bright, Stephen B.: "The death penalty as the answer to crime: costly, counterproductive and corrupting"; 35 Santa Clara Law Review 1211 (1995)

Capital punishment, death by execution, or the death penalty is a government sanctioned punishment. Crimes that result in the death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. Today the death penalty is viewed quite different throughout different countries and states. But is the death penalty worth it by all means? If a person is already aware of the possible outcomes for committing a crime, is that going to stop them? Usually once a course of action has so much time spent planning it, there is no turning back. If they are willing to take such a high risk for something that seems rewarding to them, these criminals will not care about what comes after because they do not intend on getting caught.

Punishment by death dates back in multiple cultures and societies for as long as records have been kept. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), 4th century’s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets through 18th century Babylon, where around 25 crimes preempted punishment by death, included some documented forms of the death penalty. Common methods in these times included crucifixion, beatings, and burning while alive. European influence brought capital punishment to the Americas where the first execution, occurring in the early 1600s, brought death to Captain George Kendall for holding secretive loyalties to Spain according to DPIC. In the late 1700s Cesare Beccaria composed “On Crimes and Punishment” which strengthened the abolitionist movement (DPIC). Since this time, a movement toward tighter death penalty laws took form. Thomas Jefferson proposed a bill that ultimately fell to defeat in Virginia that would have increased the strictness on whom receives the death penalty and what act constitutes the penalty. In present the day United States, 16 states have outlawed capitol punishment and the other states have undergone a process by which the method attempts to be more humane. As society has become more civilized, a realization of the inhumanities has prevailed. Problems with current methods have become apparent and secondary methods do not offer a solution. Capital Punishment should be banned from practice and ruled unconstitutional because the process