Persuasive Essay Against Death Penalty

The Death Penalty

Imagine being charged with murder and you are innocent? Another scenario you did commit the crime but it in self-defense. Many people face these challenges day in a court where they are fighting for their freedom. In the case if they are proven guilty they could receive the death penalty not even given them an alternative punishment. Resulting in them being executed with sometimes not even given a second look at their case. The death penalty has been around since the early 1600 's. It was put in place for criminals who have committed murder. Perpetrators who receive the death penalty are most to have killed and have committed multiple crimes in one or have murdered a government official. The death penalty should be

In addition, for support why the death penalty should be abolished is the cost. It more expensive to have someone waiting to die on death row than it is for them to get life in prison. Lastly the possibility of innocent people being convicted and are executed Once they have been executed and you find out they are innocent you cannot bring them back. By abolishing the death penalty, we would give people in these situations a second chance or an alternative punishment.

Deterrence according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means "the act of making someone decide not to do something: the act of preventing a particular act or behavior from happening (Merriam-Webster dictionary)”.Basically meaning prevention of some sort, for example, the death penalty was put in place in order to show what could happen to you if you were to commit a murder. According to The National, Research council says as of "2009 survey of criminologists revealed that over 88% believed the death was NOT a deterrent to murder (The Death Penalty and Deterrence). A criminologist who are people that studies involve studying what and why people commit crimes. If the criminologists are saying the death penalty is not stopping murders why

Since then there have been 156 exonerations in the United States. 156 people that is a lot of innocent people to be sitting on death row thinking that they are going to die. Unfortunately that is a reality for many innocent people who are wrongly convicted than executed. There was no justice in the case for both parties involved after finding out that the wrong person was executed. The state cannot undo an execution once it has been done. According to Alan Berlow, Cameron Todd Willingham was executed after being found guilty of killing his children, and burning his house down after (Berlow). Willingham was executed in 1994, after his executions the attorney general wanted a look at the case to find there was no evidence proving that Willingham had committed the crime intentionally. Meaning they ruled the case as an accident, they said this man did not kill his kids, the house caught fire by accident. The kids died from smoke inhalation and being burned to death. No ever thought to ask the fire marshal how did the fire start? All the prosecution knew was the kids were dead and the house was burned up. Now I can see him getting child endangerment or child neglect charges but the death penalty is harsh. Then to find out that it was all an accident was even worse. The state of Texas of course issued an apology to his family