Should Capital Punishment Be Abolished Essay

Capital punishment has existed for centuries in its own form; however, it is still a controversy today. In 1972 the death penalty was suspended only to be reinstated a few years later. It has always been debatable, but the death penalty should be abolished because it does not deter crime, it is inhumane, and it is a possible mistake that comes with the price of life or death.

First off, the death penalty does not deter crime. According to Clarence Darrow, the author of “Capital Punishment Will Not Safeguard Society,” most homicides result from murderers who are well aware of the consequences. The article explains that the reason most of the human population refrains from killing people isn't because they are afraid of the death penalty,

It happens more often than we know and there is nothing worse than blaming an innocent person for an awful crime, forcing them to endure the shame they don’t deserve, and then ending their life along with countless missed experiences and opportunities that they should have had. Since the early 1970’s there has been 100 people proven guilty whose trials were already over and were awaiting their execution (Feingold). That means that for every seven people put on death row, one has been proven innocent and removed. The sad thing about this is that the cases were not reviewed by the court, most were reviewed by outside people. Like a college law school class trying to get experience. This means that there could have been many cases that didn’t get reviewed enough and the people should still be alive today. The pro capital punishment side may argue that the defendant gets judged fairly among their peers in the jury and they could always appeal until they get the results they want. However, other factors come into play that might subconsciously affect what the jury sees, like racism. How many innocent lives have we taken just trying to avenge the innocent lives that were lost in the first place? We may never know but that reason alone is important enough to abolish the death