Should the death penalty be abolished article. 10 Reasons to Abolish the Death Penalty 2023-01-05

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The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a controversial and divisive issue that has been debated for centuries. Some people believe that the death penalty is a necessary form of retribution for the most heinous crimes, while others argue that it is an outdated and barbaric practice that should be abolished. In this essay, I will argue that the death penalty should be abolished for several reasons.

Firstly, the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent. Studies have shown that the death penalty does not significantly reduce crime rates compared to other forms of punishment. In fact, some countries that have abolished the death penalty, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, have seen decreases in crime rates. This suggests that the death penalty is not necessary for preventing crime and that other, more effective measures can be taken to reduce crime.

Secondly, the death penalty is prone to error and injustice. There have been numerous cases in which innocent people have been sentenced to death and later exonerated, sometimes decades later. This is due to a variety of factors, including flawed eyewitness testimony, faulty forensic evidence, and misconduct by law enforcement officials. The risk of executing an innocent person is simply too high to justify the death penalty.

Thirdly, the death penalty is disproportionately applied to marginalized and disadvantaged groups. People of color, particularly African Americans, are significantly more likely to be sentenced to death than white people, even when controlling for the severity of the crime. Similarly, people who are poor or mentally ill are more likely to receive the death penalty due to their lack of access to quality legal representation. This is a clear example of how the death penalty is used to discriminate against and oppress certain groups in society.

Finally, the death penalty is a costly and inefficient form of punishment. The process of appealing a death sentence is lengthy and expensive, and the costs associated with carrying out a death sentence are much higher than those of life imprisonment. This money could be better spent on crime prevention and rehabilitation programs that have been shown to be more effective in reducing crime.

In conclusion, the death penalty should be abolished due to its ineffectiveness as a deterrent, its risk of error and injustice, its disproportionate impact on marginalized groups, and its high cost. There are more humane and effective alternatives to the death penalty that can be used to hold people accountable for their actions and protect society.

The Death Penalty Should be Abolished

should the death penalty be abolished article

Biden to grant clemency to 48 people, many on death row for a decade or more. Although 108 countries have abolished capital punishment, 60 per cent of the world's population live in the 48 countries that retain it, such as China, India and Iran. Since 1973, 186 death row prisoners have been wrongfully convicted which put them on death row in the United States. Meeks, senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, says that God, not society, has the right to choose whether a person lives or dies. Between 1989 and 2001, 18 states banned the execution of offenders with intellectual disabilities. A survey showed that since 1973 over 184 prisoners sentenced to death row have been later released after their innocence was proven. Pakistan resumed executions in December 2014 following the Peshwar school bombing, originally only for terrorism related offenses.

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Why the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished Scholarly Articles

should the death penalty be abolished article

In 2009, the U. The death penalty is disappearing In 2017 two countries — Guinea and Mongolia — abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Is it cheaper to initially pay billions of dollars to abolish it, or seven hundred forty thousand x amount of times? There are several moral arguments against the death penalty that find purchase among certain people. It only reasserts the urgent need of reckoning with the place that capital punishment holds in our broken architecture of punishment. That figure excludes executions in China, which likely executes more than the rest of the world combined but considers the data to be a state secret. The criminal justice system is biased especially with the usage of the death penalty. Research shows that on average an inmate will spend 12 years on death row, meaning that the speed aspect of deterrence for crime is not being met.

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It’s time to repeal the death penalty

should the death penalty be abolished article

If you care about this issue, leave your comments and share the debate. Also read: Moving towards abolition There may very well be people worthy of the death penalty; people whose actions are so bloodcurdling that there can be no other response. For decades, AFSC has worked to end the use of the death penalty as well as life and long-term sentences. Justice Harry Blackmun claims there is an irreconcilable conflict between two requirements in capital sentencing. More than 400 people were on death row in 1977. For those reasons, I prefer objective numerical evidence to justify the removal of the death penalty to subjective moral debates such as the interpretation of the 8th amendment.


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Why the Death Penalty Should Be Abolished

should the death penalty be abolished article

In 2015, a few months before his death, Justice Antonin Scalia said he would not be surprised if the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty. It also violates the right to not be subject to torture and other inhumane punishment. Twenty-six—or nearly 50%—were Black although Black people make up only about 13% of the U. In many cases, the defendants are not able to afford their own attorneys; then ones appointed might be underpaid, less experienced or overworked for such death cases. He ended the executions after the courts ruled his lethal injection protocol unconstitutional.


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The Death Penalty: Should it be Abolished?

should the death penalty be abolished article

Source Three: In this article there is a bunch of passages from speeches and other articles written by senators, mayors, and even presidents, and their opinion on whether the death penalty should be abolished or not. Statistics show that the death penalty is administered in a selective and racially discriminatory manner. Evaluating the debate over capital punishment A substantial body of empirical studies shows that the administration of capital punishment is arbitrary, that the costs of trials and multiple appeals make the death penalty more expensive than housing an offender in prison for life, that the death penalty does not deter violent crime, and that during the twentieth century more than 400 people were erroneously convicted in capital cases. I would rather have health care for the sick and elderly rather than pay for an inmate to die that I do not even know. Capital punishment is still enforced in many countries, such as the USA and China. The death penalty flies in the face of moral values, common sense, and history. It is a very difficult decision.

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Why I think the death penalty shouldn’t be abolished

should the death penalty be abolished article

Nor is it consonant with any just purpose of punishment. This decline signals a change in attitudes based on years of evidence and experience—among prosecutors, jury members, judges, lawmakers, and members of the public. Religion was something I had not previously thought of when it comes to capital punishment. Texas executed 13 of these young offenders, followed by Virginia three and Oklahoma two. A judgment made out in a sudden might affect the life of an innocent.

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Death penalty pros and cons: should it be abolished?

should the death penalty be abolished article

It is noteworthy that in many retentionist states, the effectiveness of the death penalty in order to prevent crime is being seriously questioned by a continuously increasing number of law enforcement professionals. D-IL that would give condemned prisoners nationwide a seven-year stay of execution to prove their innocence. It does seem hypocritical to me as well that we should be the ones demanding transparency from other nations when we are still practicing capital punishment in our own country. In 1994, Congress passed the Federal Death Penalty Act, which added more than 50 crimes punishable by death; It also exempts persons with intellectual disabilities from the death penalty. The death penalty should be abolished for many reasons. Twenty of those 56 individuals nearly 40% were white, seven around 12% were Latino, and one individual was Asian.


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10 Reasons to Abolish the Death Penalty

should the death penalty be abolished article

As a result of this, many are sentenced to death row. The death penalty violates the right to life; the most basic human right. We must abolish the death penalty. The death penalty has not been proven to improve public safety. When European settlers came to America they brought capital punishment with them. Capital punishment fails to address the root cause of the crimes. Britain was the biggest influence on America in terms of the death penalty.


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