An Analysis Of Sherman Alexie's Capital Punishment In America

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Capital Punishment in America
Sherman Alexie poem “Capital Punishment” is about a cook who he just prepared the last meal for the Native American inmate that is headed towards death row. The cook feels sympathy and sorrow for the inmate because he belives the inmate in there due to the color of his skin. Since every person has their own opinion on this topic, either for or against, the question always raised is "Is it morally right?” (Steiker). The number of problems with the death penalty are enormous, ranging from innocence lives being taken to inhumane punishment and cost expenses to racism. These problems will never be resolved unless the death penalty is abolished.
Capital Punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the foolishly …show more content…

Are there really innocent people on death row? At least twenty-three people have been executed who did not commit the crime they were accused of (JAICLC). And that 's only those that we know. And here lies a natural danger of capital punishment...when we execute an innocent person; the real killer is still on the streets, ready to victimize someone else. But when an innocent person is arrested, he is often the motivating reason behind further investigation, and if he is executed, than the case remains closed forever or until someone else gets killed by the real perpetrator. Often the only people who know what really happened are the accused and the dead. It then comes down to the skill of the examination and the defense lawyers as to whether there will be a conviction for accidental murder or for manslaughter. At times, a detective could naturally make an error and possibly lead to the conclusion that the innocent committed the crime. Whether it be multiple years in prison or even capital punishment there is no possible way of revenging or forgiving the judge and jury for this miscarriage of justice. There must always be the concern that the state can order the death penalty justly. In America, a prisoner can be on death row for many years awaiting the outcome of numerous appeals (Short). In simpler terms killing another being with or without evidence is not fair, decent, or ethically …show more content…

At first glance, it may seem that maintaining a life-term prisoner is more burdensome for taxpayers. However, according to Richard C. Dieter, the cost of a death penalty may amount to or even surpass the expenditures of handling less severe punishments for similar cases. Actually, the imposition of capital punishment requires complicated and numerous trials which can take a great amount of time. During this period, the defendant remains incarcerated and his maintenance is paid for with taxpayers’ money. Additional pre-trial time is needed to impose a death sentence with the involvement law experts, attorneys and additional trials (Dieter). All of these procedures require additional expenditures which make a death trial a costly

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