Death Penalty Analysis

The End of the Death Penalty May Be Around the Corner

The death penalty or also known as capital punishment has been around for thousands of years, yet in today 's society, it is not very common to hear that a prisoner has been executed. There are hundreds of people that have been sentenced for death, but how many have actually had their sentence carried out? There are people who have been on death row for ten, twenty, and even thirty plus years still waiting for their execution. Which leads to the question of, how effective is capital punishment if prisoners are waiting for decades before procedure are even carried out. In his piece The Death of the Death Penalty, David Von Drehle talks about the possible end of capital punishment due to

He states, “In Arizona on July 23rd, prison officials needed nearly two hours to complete the execution of double murderer Joseph Wood. Our long search for the perfect mode of killing-quiet, tidy, and superficially humane-has brought us to this: rooms full of witnesses shifting miserably in their seats as unconscious men writhe and snort and gasp while strapped to gurneys” (Von Drehle, 2015). He attempts to strike an emotional chord in his audience by using this statement to provide imagery while at the same time attempting to raise questions on how necessary the death penalty is. By including this statement, Von Drehle helps strengthen his claim by including another flaw that may contribute to the potential fall of capital punishment, and by using this quote he attempts to make his audience feel and realize these flaws as

He attempts to convince his readers that he is well informed of the death penalty by referring to different governors and what they have been doing in regards to the death penalty. He states, “California is at a standstill while a federal appeals court weighs the question of whether long delays and infrequent executions render the penalty unconstitutional”, giving the impression that states are beginning to wonder if capital punishment is the right form of punishment to administer. By including well known people in his piece, Von Drehle tries to provide certainty that he is well informed of his topic. However, despite his successful use of allusions to help strengthen his piece, Von Drehle makes many assumptions throughout his article. He assumes that his audience knows of all of the death row prisoners that he mentioned in his piece when in actuality, not many may truly know of these men. Von Drehle should have gone a little more into detail in his reference of these prisoners in order for him to fully get his claim