Banning Capital Punishment in the United States

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Banning the use of capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment (the death penalty) is a legal procedure which is known as the most severe punishment where the law authorizes execution as a punishment for criminals (Gerald, 2008). Many people claim that allowing such a punishment will help decrease the crime rate, and also give closure to the victim’s family, but if you as American citizens analyze this situation in more detail you can see that taking a life for taking a life is more of a personal matter than justice. When comparing the states that allow capital punishment with the states that have abolished it, the crime rate does not differ. Hence, those who argue that death row has a positive effect on making criminals think twice about their actions are incorrect. There is no confirmation that capital punishment is successful in stopping criminals, meaning that it does not diminish the crime rate. Also, it is an expensive process that is not always accurate, “violates the constitutional ban of punishment cruelty” (Bedau, 2011), and is an unfair system where race is a factor in sentencing. (Feingold, 2003) Therefore the United States should impose a federal ban on the use of capital punishment on all States.
Lieutenant Gregory Ruff, a police officer in Kansas for 23 years stated "I have never heard a murderer say they thought about the death penalty as a consequence of their actions prior to committing their crimes."(2011) Furthermore, the latest FBI uniform crime statistics confirms that capital punishment does not have any effect on stopping future criminals and it does not prevent any kind of unlawful act. As a matter of fact they show the states that practice the death penalty have consistently higher murder r...

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...ime, it is a system with flaws and cannot be justified. Furthermore, it does not decrease crime rate, it is costly, unstable, and it violates human rights. It is a shame that the United States continue to use such a hypocritical and barbaric punishment that does not follow our nations promises such as liberty and justice for all. The death penalty is incorrect and wrong for anyone involved in it since innocent people have been prosecuted in the past. The capital punishment system gives people all over the world a feeling that our nation is uncivilized and barbaric. Replacing such punishments with life without parole is a less expensive and safer option. Without a doubt the United States should abolish capital punishment in all states witnessing the flaws, expenses, inaccuracy and the fact that it disobeys our own constitutional rights as citizens and human beings.

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