Capital Punishment - The Death Penalty.
Murder? The helmeted man sits immobile, strapped and bolted into the enforced chair. The switch is closed. One thousand volts of electricity surge into his delicate flesh, searing his nervous system. The man, despite his shackles, jerks. His head bobs and shakes. Gurgling rises from his throat. After a minute the current is switched off, ten seconds later a surge of deadly volts slam his ruined body back into the chair. Smoke begins to rise from the helmet. A foul, gruesome smell of frying meat and voided bowels fill the room. This time the current stays on for what seems like days. When it is turned off, the question is asked. Is capital punishment the answer for the criminals of today's society (Cushing)? Capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty, and since ancient times it has been used to punish a wide variety of offenses. As of now, the death penalty is illegal in every other country besides the United States and is legal in only 39 of those 50 U.S. states (Finks). The death penalty should be made illegal throughout the entire United States because it allows for economic bias, is ineffective, and lastly it's not our job to decide who lives or dies. .
The most important reason why the death penalty should be made illegal across the United States is because of the social and economic bias" that come along with it. It is my belief that underprivileged people are disadvantaged due to their economic status. Poor prisoners do not get the same quality of defense that wealthy defendants receive. The rich defendant is able to post bail, retain attorneys of choice, and hire investigators and experts for the defense (Berlow). On the other hand the poor defendant is unable to post bond, will remain in jail and will proceed to trial with a court appointed attorney who is unable to get the proper defense tools due to the restrictions of his/her budget.