Death Penalty: An Argument Against Capital Punishment

Gideon v. Wainwright( 1963, 9-0 Vote Decision) Facts of the Case/Question Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in Florida state court with a felony because he broke into and entered a poolroom with the intent to commit a misdemeanor offense. When he appeared in court, Gideon requested that the court appoint a lawyer for him because he did not have one. However, according to Florida state law, an attorney may only be appointed to a needy defendant in capital cases, so the court did not appoint one. Gideon represented himself at the trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.

Many innocent lives are taken due to the death penalty which are often the direct result of bias and discrimination. Needless to say, the death penalty is a poor and definitive response that cannot be undone. Combating this matter requires government intervention, and entails prohibiting the death

In the article, “The Death Penalty: An Opinion Essay,” written by Hamilton Spectator, states that is the first issue that he mentions is that the justice system is never 100% right all the time. While other situations can be changed by a judge a death penalty is unchangeable. Various times of similar crimes are conferred and diverse sentences are given out. As well as depending on the criminals race the consequences valid on the judge 's opinion.

Since the beginning of history, the death penalty has been utilized as a means of punishment for a crime. Capital punishment has taken on multiple forms and been used as punishment wide range of crimes; from stealing to murder. Questions and theories have risen that suggest that the penal system is racially biased when considering punishment and deciding when the death penalty is a congruent punishment to the crime committed. In David Gilboa’s report entitled, “Is the Death Penalty in America Racist?” Gilboa analyzes and studies three common conceptions on the death penalty and how it pertains to the African American race and Caucasian race.

The Death Penalty: Is it Right? In 1972, the Supreme Court was evaluating a criminal case, Furman v. Georgia. In this case the defendant, William Henry Furman, was burglarizing a house when he was discovered by someone. In attempt to flee, he tripped and accidently set off the gun, killing the person that discovered him.

Whether a criminal is guilty of committing murder or any other capital offense, they should all be given the same sentence - life in prison. How is it fair to allow them to voluntarily choose the death penalty over prison? Criminals willingly sought to break the law and should endure the lifelong debt they owe not only to society but to the family of the innocent victims whose lives have been taken. As asserted by Robert Johnson, a professor of justice and law, and Sandra Smith, a professor of legal studies, death by incarceration is a more effective and suitable form of punishment than the death penalty (Cromie and Zott 174). Although some might argue that it is unfair to keep a criminal alive, they fail to understand that the freedom they once had is permanently lost.

Over the years the death penalty has been used way more than it should, especially with African Americans. Not only were they treated unfairly in court but they were often killed by mobs of white men for ridiculous crimes. In the past juries were not unbiased.

The color of the skin of the victim or defendant is a significant and unacceptable factor in determining who gets the death penalty in America. We have no knowledge of how a person may think, and giving a judge and jury the power to decide on someone's life can result in unfair judgments. “Today, there is growing evidence that racial bias continues in society, particularly within the criminal justice system. The existence of implicit racial bias among some law enforcement officers, witnesses, jurors, and others allows harsher punishment of minorities, even without legal sanction or intention. Although these prejudices are hard to uproot, the unfair application of the death penalty could be halted by eliminating that sentencing option altogether”(Dunham).

Forty years have gone by and I think it’s finally time we acknowledge the inconvenient truth; Capital punishment is not a fair means of punishment and disproportionately affects minorities. In the landmark Supreme Court case McCleskey v. Kemp, a study conducted by David Baldus, a late Iowa Law Professor, concluded that black defendants indicted for murder were convicted nearly twice as much as white defendants and black defendants who killed white people received the death penalty four times more often than black defendants who killed other black people. This argument was a highlight of the case, but did not stop the Supreme Court from ignoring the statistics regarding racial bias in capital punishment cases. A vote of 5-4 ruled that tendencies

In recent years, anti-death penalty propagandists have succeeded in stoking the fear that capital punishment is being carelessly meted out. Ironically, Of the 875 prisoners executed in the United States in modern times, not one has been retroactively proved innocent. The benefits of a legal system in which judges and juries have the option of sentencing the cruelest or coldest murderers to death far outweigh the potential risk of executing an innocent person. First and foremost, the death penalty makes it possible for justice to be done to those who commit the worst of all crimes. The execution of a murderer sends a powerful moral message: that the innocent life he took was so precious, and the crime he committed so horrific, that he forfeits

I believe that death penalty is considered to be a cruel and unusual punishment. In my opinion, a life is priceless and shouldn 't be taken away without their willingness. All men are created equal- no man was made better than the other and therefore should not bring death on their life. On the other hand, I think that there are more reasons why people would support the death penalty.

Throughout the media lately, a majority of the reports are about government brutality, especially against people of minority groups, and convictions of murder cases. The death penalty is defined as punishment of execution, but the death penalty is more than a punishment, it is legalized killing. No matter where a person stands on the death penalty, one statement that people cannot make is that killing is always right. The death penalty is inhumane and should be abolished because it discriminates against human beings and oppresses the lives of the challenged, specifically those with mental illnesses. The government claims that everyone is equal, when in reality stereotypes and discrimination always are present.

Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime by the government of a nation. The United States is in the minority group of nations that uses the death penalty. There are thirty-three states that allow capital punishment and seventeen states that abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). The morality of the death penalty has been debated for many years. Some people want capital punishment to be abolished due to how it can cost a lot more than life imprisonment without parole, how they think it is immoral to kill, and how innocent people can be put to death.

There are almost limitless differences in the way people view capital punishment throughout the world. Capital punishment, better known as the death penalty, is defined as the practice of executing an individual as the punishment for a specific crime after conviction by a court of law. In the United States, (in 2016) capital punishment is legal in 32 states, with Texas receiving the highest rates for death-sentencing. Across the world, however, since July of 2015, 140 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Some people believe that it is simply unethical to determine when a human being should die, and others believe that the crime a person commits should match the consequence they’re presented with.

The Death Penalty, loss of life due to previous crimes and actions, is believed by some to be extremely costly, inhumane, and cruel unlike some others whom believe it is just, right, and provides closure. The Death Penalty is not a quick and easy process. Most who get sentenced to deaths row wait years for their ultimate punishment of death. Some believe that it is not right to punish and kill a human for actions they have done because, they believe that the inmate should have another chance. Then others believe that it is right to punish someone for their actions especially if their actions involve killing another or multiple humans.