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Death penalty pros and cons
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Death penalty pros and cons
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What about the Death Penalty Nobody wants to let someone off after they do something wrong. People do a lot of things that get them in trouble. The Death penalty is one of the most disputed topics today. Criminals think that they will just die in jail so; it could be a good form of revenge-suicide. If the death penalty were removed people would have to learn their lesson, they would contemplate, and try to be forgiven in their life in prison. The people would live the rest of their lives sorry for what they had done, and not just believe it is over and there is no use. There should not be a death penalty because people would then learn their wrong, people would have time to be forgiven, and if by chance the court is wrong, they could be released at a later date. …show more content…
Many people do bad things and they need to take time, if there is a mistake they are not dead, Damon Thibodeaux spent 15 years on death row. An expert lead the reinvestigation finding that the threat of the death penalty made Don falsely confessed to the murder of his cousin; So Many people can be falsely accused. Carlos DeLuna was executed in 1989 for the death of Wanda Lopez. DeLuna said he was innocent during the time he was in Jail and said Carlos Hernandez was really the killer. He was found innocent, after he was executed. Just like DeLuna, Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for murdering his 3 daughters in a fire at their home. Faulty forensic was to blame; they found that the fire was really arson. In these 2 cases, these men were wrongfully Murdered, and if alive, could have been released to the world, free
"The Carlos DeLuna Case: Definitive Proof That Texas Executed an Innocent Man? - The Week." The Week. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Carlos Deluna was an American man who was convicted of first degree murder. Carlos was executed by the state of Texas for the killing of a 24 year old woman at the Shamrock gas station. The victim Wanda Lopez was stabbed multiple times apparently from a buck knife. Wanda Lopez was the attendant of the gas station and the police was senseless and oblivious to the tape at the gas station and only saw when she was giving the murderer the money yelling “You want it? I’ll give it to you. I’m not going to do nothing to you. Please!!!” There were only four eyewitnesses that was nearby when Wanda Lopez was murdered.
Many people are led to believe that the death penalty doesn’t occur very often and that very few people are actually killed, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1,359 people have been executed as a result of being on death row since 1977 to 2013. Even though this form of punishment is extremely controversial, due to the fact that someone’s life is at stake, it somehow still stands to this very day as our ultimate form of punishment. Although capital punishment puts murderers to death, it should be abolished because killing someone who murdered another, does not and will not make the situation any better in addition to costing tax payers millions of dollars.
People also say that the death penalty will decrease overcrowding in prisons. Others believe that there shouldn’t be a death penalty because they think people should have the right whether or not to live or die. In some cases, innocent people have been falsely convicted and then sentenced the death penalty. In Truman Capote’s novel, In Cold Blood, both Richard “Dick” Hickock and Perry Smith were sentenced to death by hanging for the murders of the Clutter family. Perry Dick and Perry both were involved with the murders of the Clutter family, but only Perry killed the four members of the family.
"The Innocence Project - Cameron Todd Willingham: Wrongfully Convicted and Executed in Texas." The Innocence Project - Cameron Todd Willingham: Wrongfully Convicted and Executed in Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Cameron_Todd_Willingham_Wrongfully_Convicted_and_Executed_in_Texas.php.
There are major problems with our criminal justice system. In the last one hundred years, there have been more than 75 documented cases of wrongful conviction of criminal homicide. According to a 1987 Stanford University survey, at least 23 Americans have been wrongly executed in the 20th century. For this very reason, the State of Illinois imposed a moratorium on the state?s death penalty in 2000 when it was discovered that 13 inmates on its Death Row were wrongly convicted. Anthony Porter, one of the 13, spent 15 years on Death Row and was within two days of being executed, before a group of Northwestern journalism students uncovered evidence that was used to prove his innocence.
Recently on February 27, 2014, there has been evidence of a possible execution of an innocent man in Texas. Todd Willingham was convicted of setting his home on fire and murdering family members in 1991 and was executed in 2004. Jailhouse informant Johnny Webb, states in his testimony that this case, “was really based on a deal and misrepresentation …the system cannot be regulated... You cannot prevent the execution of an innocent person”. Willingham’s stepmother is “thrilled that all this has come to light… [and is] not asking for compensation” but for “justice” (Schwartz 1). Cases like these have caused mixed controversies when it comes to capital punishment.
Throughout the years the death penalty has been a very controversial aspect when it comes to punishment. Some groups of people believe that is should be abolished and other think that America should keep it. I’m here to say that I am not for the death penalty at all. To me the death penalty has a couple of flaws that I have an issue looking past. The death penalty is very unconstitutional for anyone who is put through it and it is very bias on who it chooses for the punishment.
One in twenty-five or 4.1% of people sentenced to death are innocent(One in 25). A man named Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully sentenced to death. In Texas, during the year 2004 Cameron was accused of killing his three daughters in a fire. Cameron claimed that he was innocent from the very beginning, yet no one believed him. He was found guilty for the act of killing his three daughters in the fire. Later on after his execution, they found more information that helped them come to the conclusion that Cameron was indeed not guilty. As he said from the very beginning(Cameron Todd). This case is particularly weird because the court does not usually look back into a case after one is executed. Cameron is not the only one who was ever wrongfully executed. Cameron is one of many. “I’m actually really opposed to the death penalty”(Bill Paxton). Bill Paxton is one of many who agree that the death penalty is wrong. There are many reasons why one can oppose the death penalty, but the major reason one opposes the death penalty is because it puts the lives of innocent people at risk.
“Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, 138 innocent men and women have been released from the death row, including some who came within minutes of execution. In Missouri, Texas and Virginia investigations have been opened to determine if those states executed innocent men. To execute an innocent person is morally reprehensible; this risk we cannot
Such is the story of Kirk Bloodsworth. In 1985, he was sent to death row accused of killing and raping a 9-year-old girl from Maryland. In 1992, when DNA testing was in its infancy, Bloodsworth pushed for a DNA test to prove he was not the killer. It was not a match. The state of Maryland set him free and paid him $300,000 for wrongful imprisonment.
The death penalty is racist, it punishes the poor, it causes the innocent to die, it is not a deterrent against violent crime, and it is cruel and unusual punishment. More than half of the countries in the world have already abolished the death penalty and the U.S should abolish it too. It is wrong and cruel. Some states in the U.S still hold the death penalty because they think it will keep U.S citizens safe, but we can just keep the murders in a separate patrolled jail. Abolish it and we may save the lives of the people that may have been executed innocent.
To this date, Seven hundred and seventy two criminals in the U.S. alone have been
The first reason why it should not be abolished is because the death penalty will reduce crime rate. Opposers say that the death penalty does not reduce the crime rate, but in my opinion it does reduce the crime rate. I believe if people actually think twice before committing a crime, and realize that they could hurt themselves or their family then they are going to slow their role and better themselves. The second reason
The heaviest punishment towards convicts is death penalty in law. It means to atone for an offense is dead. Of course, it will not execute for every criminal. Death penalty is only for felons. For example, a people who murdered someone would not get the death penalty. The death penalty is for murders who related to the smuggling of aliens or committed during a drug-related drive-by shooting. Sometimes, however, the felons also can avoid the death because some countries (or actually states) don’t allow death penalty. Then, what decision would the convict get? It is a life sentence, which means the prisoner should be in a prison until he or she dies. However, it is not good idea to keep felons. Death penalty should be allowed and get more active because life sentence is costly, unsafe, and insincere for a victim and the family.