There are many factors that plays into the reasons why the death penalty is wrong and no one deserves it. No matter how heinous the crime(s) was. One major factor that plays a role in the death penalty is, racial discrimination or being poor. African Americans are at a higher risk of the death penalty than any other minority. There are more white prosecutors in death penalty states, than any other minority. Majority of these states have conflicts when it comes to African Americans and other minorities other than whites. (Death Penalty Information Center: Race and the Death Penalty) Other minorities also receives this punishment as well, people are still being killed for crime(s). Being poor also contributes to the death penalty because if the defendant, can not afford a proper lawyer, then the defendant is fighting against a corrupted system. That’s when plea bargains come into play because if not careful, than the defendant can play right into the system`s hands even if innocent.
Innocence is another reason why people who are convicted of heinous crimes don’t deserve the death penalty. Many people spend years on death row, who are innocent before finally being released. ( Innocence
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As states across the country strive to abolish the death penalty some states are still holding on. Which means that they will find any reason to keep or allow the death penalty to occur and happen. States are killing to hamper the pain of the victim(s)` families, and execution only extends a chain of violence. It`s sad to say that violence is the solution to violence, which it is not. Revenge is a substitute for pay back, it 's a human emotion to hurt someone that hurts someone else or loved one(s). It does most times gives the victims` families closure and feeling of justice. As crazy as it sounds in some cases the victim(s)’ families does not want execution just simple jail time, but the states want
African Americans face harsher circumstances in death row sentencing’s than any other race. In a study published in 2009 by Scott Phillips, a University of Denver sociology and criminology professor, conducted research between 1992 and 1999 in Harris County, Texas when an astonishing “504 defendants were indicted for capital murder” (O’Hare, 2010). At the end of his research, Phillips found that “convicted capital murderers were six times more likely to get a death sentence when they killed married whites or Hispanics with college degrees and no criminal record — as opposed to unmarried black or Asian victims with records and no college degrees” (2010). Phillip’s study proves that death row sentencing is bias as African Americans were more likely to be put on death row if their victim was of a higher social class than them. Florida’s death penalty sentencing in recent years has been extreme.
The three most common reasons for retaining the death penalty are retribution, deterrence, and assuagement. Assuagement of course, refers to easing the pain of the victim's loved ones. Retribution is a society's need to “punish particularly egregious crimes.” Deterrence is the desire to prevent future crimes. By maintaining punishment for horrendous crimes in our
Since the beginning of history, the death penalty has been utilized as a means of punishment for a crime. Capital punishment has taken on multiple forms and been used as punishment wide range of crimes; from stealing to murder. Questions and theories have risen that suggest that the penal system is racially biased when considering punishment and deciding when the death penalty is a congruent punishment to the crime committed. In David Gilboa’s report entitled, “Is the Death Penalty in America Racist?” Gilboa analyzes and studies three common conceptions on the death penalty and how it pertains to the African American race and Caucasian race.
criminal justice system, African Americans tend to be the victim of this punishment due to their race and class. defendant convicted of killing white victim is more likely to face death penalty than those convicted of killing non-white victims. The reason behind the racial disparity is that there is a problem in policy, implicit biases and structural disadvantages. The impact of race on capital sentencing is astonishing, since 1976 the U.S. has executed thirteen times more black defendants with white victim than white defendants with black victim. While criminal justice department claim they are color blind Such statistical states they are not color blind instead they are biased and not caring about the African Americans and minorities.
The death penalty provides closure for the victim(s) family and people want to protect their family at any cost. The physicians and other doctors there are not there to kill them but to make sure they are comforted at their last minute of life instead of in pain. These doctors make sure the criminal is not in pain while he or she dies. Jail is actually a nice place, people who are homeless often commit crimes to go to jail. There they get fed good, they're clothed, they have a roof over their heads, and most of all they benefit from our tax money.
Every one in twenty-five people on death row are actually innocent. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, 143 people have been exonerated. Sadly this is less than half the number of the people who may have actually been innocent. The death row inmate stated earlier, Jesse Tafero, who had a botched execution was later found to have been innocent (Time). An innocent man experienced an extremely painful death orchestrated by the government.
Over the years the death penalty has been used way more than it should, especially with African Americans. Not only were they treated unfairly in court but they were often killed by mobs of white men for ridiculous crimes. In the past juries were not unbiased.
This type of bias undermines the core principles of impartiality that the justice system is meant to uphold. The justice system is meant to give equal protection to all, but being biased based on skin color is the justice system not upholding their key belief. The use of racial biases can cause harm to individuals who don’t deserve this harsh punishment just because of the color of their skin. The use of the death penalty should be free from racial bias to ensure that our society is giving everyone equal protection under the law regardless of one's race or
George Woodworth once examined the death penalty rates among all death eligible defendants in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between the years of 1983 and 1993. The results of their study proved that the odds of receiving the death penalty in Philadelphia increased by 38% when the accused was black. (“Race and the Death Penalty | American Civil Liberties Union”) This shows that the justice system is biased and proves that a black person is more likely to receive a death punishment for committing the same crime as a white person. Another example of discrimination is when death penalties are given to those that are poor and grow up in underprivileged backgrounds.
Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime by the government of a nation. The United States is in the minority group of nations that uses the death penalty. There are thirty-three states that allow capital punishment and seventeen states that abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). The morality of the death penalty has been debated for many years. Some people want capital punishment to be abolished due to how it can cost a lot more than life imprisonment without parole, how they think it is immoral to kill, and how innocent people can be put to death.
If the cold-blooded killing of thousands does not lower premeditated murder, there is really no point (because let 's face it, the saying “eye for an eye” is childish and socially unacceptable). This same conclusion was agreed upon in a recent poll by almost 90% of the world’s criminological societies (Facts About the Death Penalty). However in all honesty, the argument against the death penalty doesn’t just stop at its redundancy, but also its
Although the death penalty may bring some closure to families of the victims and even the victims themselves it still should be abolished because the negatives outweigh the positives. People could be murdered by the state even if they are innocent. They are taking away any chance these people have at a normal life even though it's a life that they deserve and did nothing to have it taken away. 6. Conclusion
I agree that the death penalty is inhumane and should be abolished; no one deserves to be killed, even those who have killed. However, I also feel that the death penalty solves nothing because all the government or state does is end the person’s life. This means they don’t get to learn from what they have done; they don’t receive punishment. It is better that the prisoner be sentenced to life so that they could ‘feel’ dead, but still have to live in a confined space for the rest of their lives, thinking about what got them there in the first place. That to me, is a real death penalty.
The Death Penalty, loss of life due to previous crimes and actions, is believed by some to be extremely costly, inhumane, and cruel unlike some others whom believe it is just, right, and provides closure. The Death Penalty is not a quick and easy process. Most who get sentenced to deaths row wait years for their ultimate punishment of death. Some believe that it is not right to punish and kill a human for actions they have done because, they believe that the inmate should have another chance. Then others believe that it is right to punish someone for their actions especially if their actions involve killing another or multiple humans.
When the final sentence is being decided, the system they use to determine, is very flawed. The sentence is determined not by the gravity of the crime, but depending heavily on the person’s lawyer. Another thing that is used against the defendant, is race. As sad as using race to determine when someone else’s life is going to end sounds, officials really do that. On top of the corrupted method officials use, the people being sent to death sentence have an extremely high risk of experiencing intense pain during the execution.