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The Importance Of The Death Penalty

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In the Christian faith, the 6th Commandment states that “Thou shall not kill.” In the United States of America, the government legally killed over a 1,000 of its own citizens since 1976, and there are nearly 3000 inmates on death row waiting for their execution currently. As a nation, America has been unable to stick with one stance on many issues. There have been amendments banning alcohol, and others making alcohol legal. Many states have pushed to make abortion illegal, but still willingly kill their own citizens. Because of the injustices that have occured and still happen, the United States government should push for capital punishment to be illegal due to its significance on the lives it touches. The use of capital punishment in America was greatly influenced by British colonizers when they first settled. The first recorded execution was the death of George Kendall in 1608 and four years later the Virginia governor installed the first laws regarding death penalty: Divine, Moral and Martial Laws. These laws influenced what would become an …show more content…

Southern states, who have the highest number of executions, have the highest rate of crimes according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Police Chief James Abbott stated, “I ... know that in practice, [the death penalty] does more harm than good. Life in prison without parole in a maximum-security detention facility is a better alternative (Death Penalty Information Center).” The purpose for the legal and justice system is to improve society, and by killing our own citizens, we are falling away from that better society. We should be focusing on how to prevent these crimes, instead of ushering out punishments after they occur. For America’s future, legislature needs to be put in place to end the capital punishment because of how it can affect innocent people and gives the government the power who lives and dies if this country wants to grow

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