Death Penalty

The Death Penalty: The Government’s Murder

“We don’t allow torturing the torturer or raping the rapist so why do we tolerate murdering the murderer?” (Arguments For & Against the Death Penalty). The death penalty is a hypocritical, inhumane way to penalize people for their wrongs doings. I don’t believe the death penalty deters. I don’t believe it has anything to do with race or gender. I do, however, believe that it is wrong.

The death penalty should not be used as deterrence. Some will argue that potential murderers will think twice about murdering if they know the punishment is their own life (Arguments). I say if a murderer is thinking about murdering they don’t care what the punishment is for the crime anyway. It is a proven fact that U.S. murder rates are higher than countries’ without the death penalty, and some states without the death penalty have lower murder rates than those with the death penalty (Arguments).

Some also say that people escape from prison and kill again, but murderers are the criminals least likely to repeat their crime (Comey, Sharp). I disagree that prisoners will escape and kill again because our U.S. prison systems do not just let people walk free if they have murdered. If not sentenced to the cruel and unusual death penalty punishment, a person who has murdered will be sentenced to life without parole.

It has been shown, recently, that fewer people are supporting the death penalty. Opinion polls, legal errors, jury verdicts, and poor defenses have led people to doubt the punishment of the death penalty (Comey). The lowest number of inmates put to death since 1996 took place just last year in 2005 (Comey). Citizens, juries, judges, and people in general have begun to realize the ineffectiveness of the death penalty.

One of the biggest reasons the death penalty should not be used is because people have been found innocent after already being executed. You can’t bring back someone who’s dead, but if found innocent, you can let him or her out of prison. One article argued that only 48 people, not 102 like some articles say, have been found innocent on death row (Sharp). I don’t think it matters how many have been found innocent after being put to death. Even if just one innocent person has died unfairly, I don’t think it’s accurate enough.

One hundred twenty one people have been released from death row after being declared innocent (Comey). DNA has been used in deciding these people’s innocence (Comey). In retried cases where the death penalty was the original verdict, 80% changed the verdict to no death penalty, and 7% were acquitted all together (Arguments). These people would have been falsely murdered, yet we still allow the erroneous and irreversible death penalty to be used. The death penalty supporters argue that false imprisonment is wrong, too. I agree, but how much easier is it to let someone out of jail. It’s not as easy to let someone out of his or her grave!

Another thing pro-death penalty people will argue is “Why do I, a hardworking taxpayer, have to pay to support a murderer for the rest of his or her natural life?” The cost of actually putting someone to death is higher than life in prison (Ross 134). It’s not the actual death that costs so much, but the costs of investigating, prosecuting, and appealing capital cases (Ross 135). There are less appeal trials for a life in prison sentence (Ross 135). For a death penalty case the investigation is much lengthier due to the amount of evidence needed to put someone on death row. Evidence must be gathered about the person’s childhood, mental and psychological conditions, family relations, employment history, prior arrests, medical history, and much more (Ross 135).

Besides the cost, discrimination and uncertainty are two big reasons the death penalty should not be used. The punishment selects certain groups such as African Americans. Compared to the 12 whites, 202 African Americans were sentenced to the death penalty in one year (Arguments). Some argue that the reason African Americans’ number of people sentenced to death more is because they murder more (Arguments), but why is it two times more likely that an African American be sentenced to death than a white person?

The death penalty is also inconsistent. Some states have it, some states don’t. Some states use it, some states don’t. So if I murdered someone in one state, and Bob murdered someone in a different state, I could get life in prison while Bob gets the death penalty. They say the punishment fits the crime, but if it’s the same crime, shouldn’t it be the same punishment?

The last argument about the death penalty is that it is retribution for the family of the murdered. Actually in this context the word retribution could be defined as revenge or vengeance (Arguments). It does the family no good to have the murderer murdered. It doesn’t bring them closure. Murdering the murderer will not bring their loved one back. It will only take away the loved one of another. We need to have respect for all life, murderers included.

The death penalty is the wrong way for someone to be punished. It’s a “government murder”. The death penalty is inconsistent, discriminatory, and hypocritical. It has proved to kill innocent people, and though murder is not right by any means, neither is killing someone to prove the point that killing is wrong.