Why The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

Elliot Spitzer states, “Our criminal justice system is fallible. We know it, even though we don 't like to admit it. It is fallible despite the best efforts of most within it to do justice. And this fallibility is, at the end of the day, the most compelling, persuasive, and winning argument against a death penalty.” Although the Death Penalty is meant to kill the ones that have murdered, many innocent people have been executed due to the ignorance of facts during trial. Since this has come to me and my partner’s attention, we are resolved that The United States should change its penal code to abolish the death penalty. The Death Penalty is execution following someone’s conviction of murder or any other serious crime. Abolish is to end the observance or effect of. The Penal Code is a set of criminal laws of a particular country, society, etc. Our courts are not steady, which is why we need to abolish the death penalty.

I would like about whether or not the United States should abolish the death penalty. The United States should not abolish this because those who commit a capital felony which is punishable by imprisonment or death, should serve a capital punishment which is the death penalty. Many believe that certain crimes such as rape and murder should punishable by the death penalty. Although many also see it as inhumane, many also view murder and rape as inhumane. One can view this as part of Hammburi’s Code law that states “An eye for an eye.” Capital punishment has ben around for thousands of years; beginning even before the ancient Greeks and Romans. At that time, there were many different ways to carry out capital punishment such as, beheading, stoning and electrocution (PBS).

One example of wrongful execution is the Cameron Todd Willingham case. Willingham was executed in February 2004 by the state of Texas for committing murder to his three daughters by setting his house on fire. Prosecutors believed that the girls were abused and killed by setting the house on fire to attempt to cover up the evidence (1). Willingham had maintained his innocence and spent 10 years appealing for his convection up until his execution in 2004 via lethal injection. However, there were multiple issues surrounding the investigation method, evidence,

     Why should the death penalty be abolished? The death penalty should be abolished because of many reasons. Many people believe the saying, 'an eye for an eye'. But when will people realize that just because someone may have killed a loved one that the best thing for that person is to die also. People don't realize that they are putting the blood of another person life on their hands. This makes them just as guilty as the person who committed the crime: the only difference is that they didn't use weapon except their mouth to kill them. The death penalty should be abolished because it is racist, punishes the poor, condemns those who are innocent to death, and is a cruel punishment.

In 2004, a Texas man named Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for murdering his three young daughters by setting his house on fire. This conviction was based on faulty forensic science which assumed that the fire was caused by arson. There multiple fire science experts who reviewed the case and became opposed to Willingham’s execution stating there was no evidence to prove that the fire was intentionally set. In 2010, the Texas Forensic Science Commission released a report admitting that Willingham’s conviction was based on “flawed science”. One of the witnesses during the trial who was an inmate at the same prison as Willingham testified that Willingham confessed to the killing while in jail but later on recanted his statements. Willingham’s

After reviewing the case of Cameron Todd Willingham and the suspected murder of his three children, Mr. Willingham was beyond a doubt innocent. There are multiple articles and facts that point to the wrongful conviction and execution of Mr. Willingham on Feb. 17, 2004.

The death penalty is a very controversial topic in America today, the question is do we keep the death penalty or abolish it for life imprisonment without parole. America should abolish the death penalty and should stick to life imprisonment. One reason is that the death penalty is not undoable once your dead there is no going back. There has been many miscarried death penalties in the U.S., and these mistakes cause a lot of sorrow and depression for families and their loved ones. The death penalty is also too expensive. It costs America less to keep an inmate in jail for life than it does to execute them. This is why America should abolish the death penalty.

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

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

Still, many people are wrongfully executed and put into a death sentence row because an error of judgements and stereotypes based on a race especially for African Americans. “New research found that almost four percent of U.S. capital punishment sentences are wrongful convictions, almost double the number of people set free, meaning around 120 of the roughly 3,000 inmates on death row in America are not guilty” . It is ironic though, killing innocent people can be attributed to murder and the government is doing the same thing as other convicted criminals who were put into a death row. Example for a wrongful conviction, “Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in Texas in 2004 for murdering his three young daughters by setting his house on fire”. But, after his execution multiple fire science experts reviewed the case and “released a report admitting that Willingham’s conviction was based on flawed science” . Willingham was b wrongfully convicted by the government because of their mistake. Wrongful execution was common before technology was developed. It was hard to find the evidence and people made mistakes during the investigation. If there was no Death Penalty, Willingham might have been still alive claiming for his

Cameron Todd Willingham was executed by lethal injection on February 17th, 2004 in Huntsville, Texas. He was convicted of murdering his three children by arson in 1991. Thirteen years later, he was sentenced to death and executed. In 2011, he was found virtuous. Forensics experts proved his innocence assuring that the fire was accidental. Willingham was killed for a crime he didn’t commit. Situations like this are one of many reasons why the death penalty is absurd. The death penalty is an unethical and impractical process that has to be diminished in the United States because life in prison without parole is reassuring enough, Capital punishment is expensive and time consuming, and less people are in favor of the death penalty. Families of

Every day innocent people are convicted of crimes they did not commit. In many cases there are people who were later found innocent but were put to death. David Spence is an example of an innocent man that was executed for a murder he did not commit. David Spence is an example of an innocent man that was executed for a murder he did not commit. David Spence was executed in 1997 for murdering three teenagers in 1982. Spence was convicted of raping, torturing, and murdering two 17 year old girls and murdering an 18 year old boy. As the original allegations go, Spence was hired by convenience store owner Muneer Deeb to kill one girl and he ended up killing these three teens by mistake. Muneer Deeb was charged and sentenced to death but later received a retrial and was acquitted. Authoritative sources even had serious doubt about Spence’s guilt. Although there was no clear physical evidence to link Spence to the crime prosecutors used bite marks that were found on one the girl 's body and matched it to Spence’s teeth. Even jailhouse witnesses were bribed into snitching on David Spence. Despite weak evidential support and jail mate testimonies, Spence was executed. (Bonner and Rimer, 2000) Situations like David Spence’s case lead me to disagree with capital punishment. I believe giving someone the death penalty is wrong because taking somebody’s life is something humans should not have control of.

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a sentence sanctioned by government, which punishes a criminal offence by death (The World Encyclopedia, 2001). The acrimonious debate over whether death penalty should be abolished in the United States has continued for decades. In the year of 1608, Captain George Kendall became the first person to be executed by death penalty in the United States (Barbour, 1962). Hundreds of years later, the United States still keeps the death penalty in its legislation as the last and final punishment to the crime. It is significant to have the question: Should the United States abolish the death penalty? Because hundreds of year passed by, our society is different from the society in 1608, which is the year when Captain George Kendall was executed. Therefore, perhaps we should reconsider question that if the death penalty should still exist in American legislation. This paper will present two thesis statements on this question, one being pro-death penalty, thinks that the death penalty should not be abolished in the United State. The other one being anti-death penalty, and thinks that the death penalty should be abolished in the United States. Evaluations will be performed on the two articles based on their

Should we as Americans be the ones to judge someone to death? That is what happens every time that a criminal is sentenced to death. The death penalty is a major debate that Americans have faced for many years. Who are we though to commit a crime against one who committed the wrongful crime? Doesn’t this make us just as guilty as the criminal? Through this paper we will explore the pros, cons, and whether the death penalty serves to morally normalize society.

Capital crime is something that is meant for people that are found guilty of committing a serious crime, such as murder, rape, or theft. These are offences that should not be taken lightly but by killing the offender, the government is carrying about the action that they are trying to prevent. Also, the wrong person may be sentenced to death. After this person is executed, there is obviously nothing that can be done for the terrible mistake to be reversed. The death penalty should be abolished because it is more expensive than life imprisonment, numerous innocent people are condemned to death row, and it is cruel and inhumane.