In 2000, Claude Jones was executed in the state of Texas for the murder of a store owner. The only physical proof that the prosecution had was a hair found at the crime scene. Jones was convicted in 1989 before DNA tests were available, but when they were made available in 2000, the request for a DNA test was ignore, and Jones was executed. In 2007, the Innocence Project filed a law suit requesting for the hair so that it could undergo DNA testing. The request was permitted, and the hair was proven to not belong to Jones, but to the victim. An innocent man lost his life because of a piece of evidence that wasn't even proven to be correct. This is an example of a case that has been proven faulty, but it is impossible to know how many innocent lives have been taken on death row. You can review a case of a seemingly guilty person who was put in jail, find that they're innocent and free them; once you take a life, there is nothing you can do to take back that wrong doing. However, the death penalty is more than just faulty. The death penalty is immoral, unjust, and is not beneficial to America.
Capital punishment has been in America since the country was first being established. The first execution in America took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. It was not a long and lengthy process; it was a judgment that was typically determined in a reasonably short amount of time. However, things have changed since then. In 1959, the average prisoner waiting on death row waited approximately 2 years for their execution to take place. Since then, the process has become much slower and more tedious. In 1996, efforts were made to try to fix this problem and speed the process back up, but it was unsuccessful. The amount of time it takes for an execution date to occur has increased by 50% since then. In 2012, statistics showed that on average, a prisoner destined for death waits approximately 16 years before actually receiving their execution date.
The United States of America has not signed it yet. ... America isn't sure if it is ready to abolish the death penalty: especially Texas. ... America as a whole has not abolished it. ... The death penalty is a global issue. ... Tennessee forbids the execution of the mentally retarded. ...
The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offence. ... Currently, there have been over 1,000 deaths due to the death penalty since 1976 (Death Penalty Information Center). ... There are many different forms of execution used in the death penalty. ... Texas, being the largest state in the United States, has the most executions by state at 518. ... Three years later in 2009, New Mexico repealed the death penalty. ...
I am against the death penalty. ... Another reason why I"m against the death penalty is the possibility of a wrongful execution. ... Just think what our allies are thinking, "Europeans are disturbed by what they see as the violence of American society, and that has two basic elements, as they see it the issue of guns in schools and the death penalty" (Alter & Miller 26) Many other people believe in the death penalty. ... "The Death Penalty on Trial." ... "Debating the Death Penalty." ...
In 1967, executions in the United States were temporarily suspended to give the federal appellate courts time to decide whether or not the death penalty was unconstitutional. ... Fifty years ago, America was quick to condemn the Germans for persecuting Jew's, but, today, in 1996 Americans execute their own people the exact same way. ... The death penalty contradicts the whole idea of human rights. ... Supporters of the death penalty believe that the death penalty helps keep the crime and murder rate down, but that is not so. States with death penalty laws do not have lower c...
(Religious Organizing Against the Death Penalty Website) The main argument that advocates for the death penalty have is that the death penalty deters crime, that the threat of execution is enough to make criminals think twice about committing a capital crime. ... Also, states that do not have a death penalty experience lower number of murders each year than that of the states who do. ... (Death Penalty Information Center Website) People justify the death penalty in saying that in the Bible God says that murder should be punished with death. ... A similar study noted that White defe...
The beginning of the death penalty in America comes from the influence of Britain. The death penalty was a common punishment in British culture and the British brought it with them when they came to America. ... During the 1930's America averaged 167 executions a year. However, in the 1950's the death penalty and the numbers of executions in a year began to drop (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011). ... A person receiving the death penalty has a medical examination before the execution. ...
DEATH PENALTY The death penalty has existed as long as humans have existed. ... IN the United States alone there have been 4047 executions since 1930 and 188 were from 1977-1996. ... In a 1986 poll 70% of Americans favored the death penalty as a punishment for murder. ... Zimmy) Time magazine, 1997 said 52% of Americans do not believe the death penalty deters people from committing crime. ... In Britain, 167 people were one death row. 164 of them said they witnessed at least one execution before they committed their crime. ...
In the 1500's in England, only in major crimes was the death penalty used. ... In the United States, beginning in 1967, executions were suspended to allow the Federal Courts to decide weather the death penalty was unconstitutional or not. ... Since 1973, about 6,000 people have been sentenced to the death penalty in America. ... In the end the death penalty is a very controversial issue. ... But the fact remains that the death penalty is final. ...
Human rights are strongly supported in America. ... For example, some executions have gone wrong and it has taken a long time for death to occur after the lethal injection. ... For example, African Americans are overrepresented on death row. African Americans make up 13% of the population and around 50% of those on death row (Ruggiero). ... While supporters of the death penalty claim that there is no risk of wrongful execution, in fact, there have been people who have been wrongly convicted and killed. ...
