The Death Penalty: Inhuman And Wrong

Since the times of King Hammurabi of Babylon back in the Eighteenth Century B.C. the death penalty has been around. For good or bad, the death penalty was created as a deterrent to end crime through brutal and painful executions such as burning alive, being impaled, drowning, and crucifixion. Over the years, the way the death penalty works has changed and even been abolished by many countries. In America however, the death penalty is a widely discussed issue with many supporters on both sides on whether or not it’s inhuman or necessary. To me, the death penalty is inhuman and wrong. The death penalty has many issues with it concerning many aspects of how it operates and the full investigation done on each person. According to the Death Penalty

Where some people are convicted due to honest mistakes, there are some agents out there who lie about their findings or hide certain evidence to cause the crime to look like the fault of the accused. In 1987, in the Case of Michael Morton. The prosecutors left out vital information during the trial. Even though the evidence found had proven his innocence, the withholding of key items and speculations of what they think happened were enough to land Michael Morton a conviction for the murder of his own wife who he never killed. Michal Morton was sentenced to life in prison because of the prosecution’s actions (Innocence Project – Michal

However, it is even sicker to think that the death penalty ignores issues that may exist within people. There are minimal protections for those with mental disabilities in the court of law. Where some states do significantly reduce sentences for those with mental illness, some states flat out ignore the issue and proceed with the case as if it were normal. Mental disabilities are something that should be considered due to the effects it can have in a crime and in a trial. In 1985, Eddie Joe Lloyd was convicted for the murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. Eddie at the time was in the hospital being treated for his mental illness when he saw some of the police cases. To assist the police Eddie Lloyd wrote letters to the police offering ways he felt could solve the murders including the one he was convicted for. The police went to Eddie and asked him to falsely confess for the murder to lure the real killer out of hiding by giving Eddie details only the murderer would have known (Innocence Project - Eddie Lloyd). Eddie’s mental state was completely ignored during trial and the case leading to him being convicted of the crime by a set