The Death Penalty Should be Abolished

According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), there have been 1376 executions in the United States since 1976. These executions have been performed through electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, firing squad, and the most common lethal injection, which over 1000 people have been executed by this method. However, only eighteen out of the fifty states have abolished the death penalty. I believe the death penalty does not solve the crime, teach a lesson, or answer any problems that were caused by the crime. As a whole nation, the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, should be prohibited for many reasons. Murdering a person, without no doubt, is the worst crime a person can commit. However, our government is hypocritical by allowing the death penalty. They believe that the murder should be killed because the criminal killed an innocent person. “Eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth” is the concept what most of our government uses up for this inhumane punishment.

It totally contradicts the point of the law. For example, if this is the reason for the heinous punishment, if a person hits me, than I should go and fight back. I believe we are just murdering murders to show them murder is not right. The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty states, “We do not cut off the hands of thieves to protect property; we do not stone adulterers to stop adultery. We consider that barbaric. We continue to take life as a means of protecting life.” As humans that make mistakes continuously, I believe that no human, government affiliated or not, can choose whether a person should live or not. “This country was founded on soaring aspirations, on the inherent truth that we are all created equal and endowed with inalienable rights. One of these is the right to life, and as a right, it cannot be abridged, it cannot be undermined, it cannot be revoked.” (Capital Punishment Should Be Abolished) No matter how horrendous the crime is, as humans we do not lose our value. However, it’s easy for our society to forget that its humans that are being executed.

As a citizen of this country, I rightfully believe in the Eighth Amendment that states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” I believe in 1791 when the Bill of Rights was ratified; the whole point of the eighth amendment was placed so the so the death penalty could be abolished. When there are many options to punish criminals severely why pick the most ungodly punishment. Not only is death harsh, in most cases it can be viewed as not being the norm. There is no other punishment that uses the same punishment as a crime committed besides the death penalty. Many people approve the death penalty as a compensation for the wrong done to the victim’s family. However, closure is not the result in many of the circumstances. “You will lose someone you cannot live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news.

They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp”, Anne Lamott. She pretty much says no matter what you do to try to take the pain will never go away, and you have to learn to live with it. Even though, losing a loved one can be heart shattering, even when the criminal is executed the hurt will never go away. Many families believe that this harsh punishment will bring them relief, but the ache is unescapable, it’s a process of life everyone will someday go through. Such groups as, California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, are groups who are not for the death penalty, established by victims’ families. These families believe that they will be different from the criminals by not stooping down and allowing the murderer to be executed.

They believe that by doing the same thing to the criminal that happened to their loved one will make no difference. These organizations believe that instead of spending millions of dollars on the death penalty which doesn’t reduce the crime rate at all. The money should be used on organization to help to prevent killers on the streets. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun states, “Even under the most sophisticated death penalty statutes, race continues to play a major role in determining who shall live and who shall die”. However, it is time to face that our judicial system is prejudiced. In many of southern states, eight percent of the black criminals and only one percent of white criminals who commit murder get the death penalty. Also, according to the DPIC, criminals have a seventy seven percent likely hood to get executed for murdering a white person than a black person.

“A report sponsored by the American Bar Association in 2007 concluded that one-third of African-American death row inmates in Philadelphia would have received sentences of life imprisonment if they had not been African-American.” (Death by Discrimination – The Continuing Role of Race in Capital Cases) It’s ironic how America is a first world country, but we are still so undeveloped in our laws, even countries of third do not do not practice the death penalty, safeguarding life as highest good. Countries like France, England and others abolished death penalty in the late 1700’s “The history of death penalty abolition stands for testimony. Cezare Beccaria has the reputation of being the first to lay down in 1764 the unexpectedly bold theory: ‘death penalty is neither useful, nor necessary.’”(Nicolau) Europe nowadays is one of continents that have mostly abolished the death penalty, with only one country left outside all the countries that abolished death penalty.

“Today of the 190 UN member state, 129 are abolitionist” showing the improvement of the world while our society still uses inhumane punishments. (Nicolau) In conclusion, the death penalty is the most corrupt and most wicked punishments a person can face. It does not help our nation at all but, it just shows that our government can be as harsh as the criminal. The death penalty does not follow the rights our founding fathers fought for us. They fought for us to live in equality and peace; instead we treat criminals as if they are not humans and don’t make mistakes like us. Parents and teachers teach their children from a young age that murder is wrong yet, when they get older they realize that this concept is contradicted in our government. Nothing good has ever come out from hate yet; we still have the death penalty. I believe that criminals do deserve serious consequences but not as harsh as death. There are many options such as, life without parole. This heinous crime cannot be continued in a country where we claim to have “liberty and justice for all.”

Works Cited
1. “Capital Punishment Should Be Abolished.” Capital Punishment: Cruel and Unusual?. Kim Masters Evans. 2012 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. 2.
Amnesty International, United States of America: Death by Discrimination – The Continuing Role of Race in Capital Cases, 24 April 2003, AMR 51/046/2003, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3f12f4434.html [accessed 10 April 2014] 3. NICOLAU, INGRID. “Historical Evolution Of The Death Penalty Abolition As A Fundamental Human Right.” Contemporary Readings In Law & Social Justice 5.2 (2013): 278-283. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.