Capital Punishment In The United States

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Capital punishment, a legal justice operation practiced in the United States. Capital punishment is a method used to penalize criminals who have committed devious crimes with death. Dated back to the Eighteenth Century, the death penalty has been part of major countries and is still practiced to this day. Hanging, electrocution, lethal injection and other techniques are used to end the life of those who are condemned. Capital punishment is not an effective form of punishment and should be terminated. The death penalty has been analyzed to measure the connection between executions and crime rates in order to discover if capital punishment deter crimes. No proof has been provided to show that executions lower crime rates. In addition, one’s Eighth …show more content…

Is killing a criminal an act of justice or vindictive? Capital punishment is a controversial practice many believe should be abolished within the United States, others may dispute. A series of studies have been conducted to validate whether capital punishment act as a deterrence towards future crimes but there is no substantial evidence to support that it does. The death penalty is a cruel and unusual penalty; from lethal injection to the electric chair, these methods can be viewed as inhumane. Capital punishment is not an effective procedure to punish one for their crimes. Also, criminals who are condemned are not the only ones effected by the conviction, families of the victim and defendant encounter tribulations as well. Constant reminders to the victims’ family, the cost of death and unethical practices are a few reasons why capital punishment is not an effective form of punishment and should be terminated within the United States of …show more content…

Troy Davis was an African American man who was accused for murder in 1989 and condemned. Davis was executed on September 21, 2011 for having been convicted for the August 19, 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia. The case against Troy Davis was based exclusively on witness testimony. However, the body of evidence had myriad inconsistences, discrepancies and biased logic. Between Davis trail and his execution, everyone of the state non-police witness, except two, withdrew or contradicted their personal testimony. This “reasonable doubt” did in no way deter the State of Georgia from putting Davis to death. Capital punishment places an unequal burden on African American families. While African Americans constitute thirteen percent of the United States population, they make up forty-two percent of the death row population. The disproportionate use of this policy caused African Americans to be scrutinized and punished more severely than whites charged in similar offenses. (Heynen, 2015, pg. 1067) This text further shows that blacks are targeted and discriminated. There was no significant evidence in the Troy Davis case to prove his innocence and because of his skin color, he was condemned and executed by the majority. An illusion, capital punishment creates a false sense of safety in the United States but in reality, it is just an

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