Even after years of imprisonment, many trial judges state that "actual innocence" is not grounds for release from prison!" The preface begins with the horrifying case of Dennis Fritz being arrested, convicted and spending eleven years in prison for a rape he did not commit. It is proven through DNA tests that sixty-seven people were sent to prison and death row for crimes they did not commit. ... He was sentenced to fifteen years for a rape that he did not commit. ... He tells the police that he has visions of the rapes and murders. ...

• Word Count: 1796
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

When one plans and brutally rapes or murders another, doesn't it make sense that the punishment for the culprit be equal to their crime? ... A prisoner sitting on death row cannot make parole, or escape from prison. ... " What is to stop a person sentenced to life imprisonment, with no possibility of parole from killing while in prison? ... " Death is feared more than life imprisonment, and deters prospective murders not deterred by the thought of life in prison. ... My motto is, rob 'em all, rape 'em all, and kill 'em all....

• Word Count: 1707
• Approx Pages: 7

The legal system does not steal from the thieves and rape the rapists. ... Thomas Silverstein was serving time in a federal prison for murder. While in prison he killed again. ... This time he killed two prison officers. ... Can we really keep all other people in the prison safe from him? ...

• Word Count: 1442
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The common argument for capital punishment is that it saves tax dollars, it decreases prison overcrowding and provides equal justice. ... The monies generated by the work provided should solve the prison crowding issue by freeing up more funds to build and staff bigger prisons. ... The usual prison guards will watch over the workers. ... The murderers will work without pay and be kept in the prisons. ... Would society allow rape as the penalty for rape or the burning of arsonists" homes as the penalty for arson. ...

• Word Count: 2255
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Sixteen years of her life were washed away in a prison cell. ... Also, there is a misunderstanding about prison escapes. In 1998, the most recent year for which data is available, 6,530 people escaped from state prisons. ... On the other hand, Prison escapes are much more uncommon. Federal prison escapes are much rarer than state prison escapes. ...

• Word Count: 2052
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

Back in 1959, Steven Truscott, a young boy, aged fourteen, was convicted of murdering and raping a young girl and was set to hang. ... Truscott was sentenced to a lifetime in prison, but was eventually paroled. ... Ever since Truscott got out of prison he has maintained his innocence, but only now has he come out of hiding to share his story. ... More inmates, means more prisons, which means accelerated costs. ... According to this point, we should execute all criminals or offenders of the law and have no prisons! ...

• Word Count: 1472
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Not only is capital punishment and unfair form of justice to criminals, it is a much larger burden on taxpayers, who pay more money to have someone executed than a life sentence in prison. ... With evidence like this, people must ask then, why continue with capital punishment when it does not scare criminals away from committing a rape or killing another human. ... The common belief is that it is much cheaper to simply kill a convict then to have them carry out a life sentence in prison. ... The cost of death row and the endless appeals and legal dues far outweigh the expense of keeping the...

• Word Count: 2333
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

The death penalty has also been imposed for such serious crimes as armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and treason. ... Some suggest that persons convicted of capital murder should serve a minimum of 25 years in prison before the possibility of consideration for parole, but in certain cases imprisonment for life with no possibility of parole. Some have even suggested that a portion of the prisoners' earnings, from in-prison jobs, should go to pay for their incarceration, and a portion should go into a fund for the victims of violent crime and their survivors. ...

• Word Count: 1346
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The death penalty does not deter a person from committing a murder while in prison. ... Prison sentences can be lifted but what happens what you kill an innocent person? ... "Between 1900 and 1992, there have been 46 documented cases of innocent persons who have been convicted of murder or capital rape-A third of whom were given a death sentence and in 23 of these cases, the person was executed." - In Spite Of Innocence.These statistics show that mistakes are made within the legal system, and to prevent unlawful executions, we must modify our government and abolish the ...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The overwhelming majority of homicides that occur in prisons occur in death penalty states. ... People paroled from sentences from armed robbery, aggravated assault, and rape are more homicidal than those incarcerated for willful homicide. ... If prison industries give the opportunity to a life-termer, he or she can support himself and contribute to the maintenance of dependents. ... The alternative is always life in prison, but should we put murderers in prison for the rest of their lives? ... Should we put them in prison for twenty years? ...

• Word Count: 1920
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

People are put to death because of murder or rape. ... The sentences might be anywhere from ten to twenty years in prison, but some crimes force the defendant to die for their crime or crimes. ... Kirk Bloodsworth was convicted on March 8, 1985, of sexual assault, rape and first-degree murder. ...

• Word Count: 2338
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School