Many Americans get sentenced to the death penalty, some committing the crime others falsely accused. Capital punishment isn’t legal in all states, but is legal in thirty-two out of the fifty states. In the essay “Death Trip” by Robert Sherrill, covers topics that he feels are important to the people being sentenced to the death penalty. Sherrill starts off by describing his execution it reinforces how inhumane a false death penalty can be. “When Jesse Joseph Tafero was electrocuted in 1990, witnesses said a foot long blue and orange flames shot from the right side of his bobbing head. It took four minutes and three 2,000-volt jolts to finish him off (later, evidence came to light indicating he was innocent of murder).” (14) He starts off by making it clear to everyone that innocent peoples’ lives are taken when wrongly accused. Sherrill also reinforces the fact that innocent people are sentenced to death row by showing statistics. “The kinder polls result from growing awareness that innocent people are probably being executed. After all, eighty-nine people have been released from death row since 1973 because evidence of their innocence has emerged—thirty-eight since 1993. Some of the innocent ones among the thousands now waiting for execution simply won’t have that kind of luck.” (14) He proves that hundreds of people have been released due to evidence proving there innocents. …show more content…
Sherrill states that innocent ones waiting “won’t have that kind of luck”, revealing that even though some are innocent they will get prosecuted as if they committed the crime and punished by death. In Texas the death penalty cannot be imposed unless the jury unanimously agrees that if turned loose the defendant would likely kill again. Prosecutors know which psychiatrists—“killer shrinks,” critics call them—are most useful. One of their favorites is Dr. James Grigson, who has examined hundreds of capital defendants and predicted 80 percent would be forever dangerous. Randall Dale Adams, accused of killing a Dallas policeman, was sentenced to death after Dr. Grigson testified that he was an “extreme sociopath” and that there was “about a one thousand percent” chance he would always be a threat to society. (After the documentary The Thin Blue Line focused on prosecutorial misconduct in Adams’s case, he was released from prison, having served twelve years. Adams is now married, employed and living a nonviolent life.) (15) According to Sherrill, even when people have committed the crime, the prosecutor can convince the jury to make the punishment more severe, by giving them false information. He greatly explains how so many innocent and guilty people get punished to death. The Statements made by Sherrill demonstrates that capital punishment should not be legal in any part of the United States because of the fact that innocent peoples’ lives are being taken from them. Murder is not acceptable in the United States, but the death penalty is. There is no way to get around the fact that a murder is the death of an individual done by another individual; there is no difference in the states murdering individual or individuals murdering individuals. The book “Dead Man Walking” writing by Helen Prejean, is a book she wrote about her interactions with two correspondents that had been sentenced to the death penalty. One of the correspondents Elmo Sonnier claimed he had no part in the murder committed by his brother. Prejean included a strong statement made by a young boy. “Patrick had asked why people wanted to kill Mr. Sonnier. “Because they say he had killed people,” Bill had answered. "But, Dad" Patrick had asked, "then who is going to kill them for killing him?" (60) She included such a powerful statement to make it aware that the cycle never ends, even after the death of the so called killer there will always be someone that killed that person. “I did these things,” he says. “I sat in judgment on these men like that—the guilty and the innocent. But who was I to sit in judgment? It still bothers me. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” (ch. 8) She quoted a former Pardon board chairmen who played a role in keeping the death penalty. Even the people who are involved and support the death penalty live each day knowing they had to end someone life. The majority of them know this is unacceptable. There is silence for a short moment, and then Blackburn says, "We can't let feelings dominate our actions or we couldn't carry out our responsibilities…I challenge him: "But you're a Christian, a minister in your church, a man who professes to follow the way of life that Jesus taught.
Yet you are the one who, with a nod of your head, signals the executioner to kill a man. Do you really believe that Jesus, who taught us not to return hate for hate and evil for evil and whose dying words were, 'Father, forgive them,' would participate in these executions? Would Jesus pull the switch? (ch.
6) Nothing is right about ending another human’s life. The wise words of Prejean make you wonder why and how the death penalty is acceptable Capital punishment should be illegal in the United States. When innocent people die from being erroneously accused of a crime that they didn’t commit something should be done. When you can never be one hundred percent sure that you have the right person, why risk another persons life. The criminals that do commit crimes such as murder or rape do deserve to be punished to life in jail, not have their lives taken away from them. Some will argue that they took someone else’s life away from them why do they deserve to live? Well in my opinion no one life is more valuable. There is nothing to do to bring that person back, and it makes us no better than the person that committed that crime if we think killing them is alright. A murder is a murder in my opinion. There are so many people that agree to capital punishment, but agreeing to kill someone is the same as saying it is okay for someone to know about a murder that is going to happen and not doing anything to prevent it. Capital punishment is irreversible and irreparable after that death of the human being and should be abolished.
In the document “Doomed to Perish”: George Catlin’s Depictions of the Mandan by Katheryn S. Hight, she analyzes the work of George Catlin while he traveled to the Mandan colony west of the Missouri River. Hight identifies that Catlin created a false and imaginative depiction of the Mandan Indians based on his social and political ideas which ended up creating an entertainment enterprise rather than reporting history. Catlin’s extravagant depictions of the Indians, which did have an impact on the Indian Policy in America, seemingly motivates Hight to write on this subject.
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating storm that destroyed the lives of many New Orleanians. A storm that caused the people to be in a bad predicament. In the reading, “The Deadly Choices at Memorial” by Sheri Fink, is a story about events that are shadowed and never acknowledged until introduced. In other words, many of the stories that followed the storm were about the houses that were destroyed, the complex evacuation process, animals that were lost, or even the fridges that were destroyed but uplifting notes were left on it, but never the complicity of the hospitals and hospital staff that monitored the injured people.The story describes the scenery of the hospital. Many of the workers are tired and overworked due to power shortages and
with his sister will be put to death and it shows how God is against evilness and
“How the Death Penalty Saves Lives” According to DPIC (Death penalty information center), there are one thousand –four hundred thirty- eight executions in the United States since 1976. Currently, there are Two thousand –nine hundred –five inmates on death row, and the average length of time on death row is about fifteen years in the United States. The Capital punishment, which appears on the surface to the fitting conclusion to the life of a murder, in fact, a complicated issue that produces no clear resolution.; However, the article states it’s justice. In the article “How the Death Penalty Saves Lives” an author David B. Muhlhausen illustrates a story of Earl Ringo , Jr, brutal murder’s execution on September ,10,
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
the play went on to strike a chord with the public and had a two year
To any religious person, hearing a command from the voice of their god is reason enough to carry out the proposed action, but in the case of Wieland, a third party must take a deeper look at such a command from a God whose known character does not line up with the order He supposedly gives. This makes Wieland’s motivation questionable, especially to those who believe that a man’s motive determines a man’s guilt. In his testimony to the court, Wieland, a pious man, reveals his motive in the murders as he recounts God as saying, “‘Thy prayers are heard. In proof of thy faith, render me thy wife. This is the victim I chuse. Call her hither and here let her fall’” (190). Being a devout Christian, it is very likely that Wieland would be familiar with the Ten Commandments listed in Deuteronomy 5, and specifically, verse 17 which states, “You shall not murder”. Though in Isaiah 55:8 the Lord tells Christians to ...
When this plea is made, it appears to be quite ironic. The man who participated in the sin is trying to convince his accomplice to do him in. However, this ...
say that due to the way Jesus reacted at his arrest and the fact that
We observed a series of skits that exhibited the attributes of Jesus. During the final skit, while we were sitting inside the K-Life gym, a black curtain dropped and we saw three men hanging from crosses. The men looked as if they had taken baths in blood, and they were struggling to speak and breathe; the man on the middle cross portrayed Jesus. The skit continued to act out the entirety of the crucifixion and the presence of the Holy Spirit was prominent in the room. I was astonished when I realized that He suffered and died on the cross for a person as broken and sinful as me. After the skit was over, Joe slowly walked out to speak to everyone who had just watched the simulated crucifixion. He revealed to us how undeserving we are of God’s grace, and how Jesus died for every person that has ever lived. He continued on with his disquisition and we eventually began to worship. At this point in time I had begun to pray to Jesus, that he would take over my life and use me in a way that glorifies him. I did not know what this would look like, but I desired to be a living example of a man of God.
At the end of this article the board poses the questions, “How many more [innocent people] remain on death row today? Can the American people be assured that none will be killed by the state?” This serves to put the thought in reader’s heads that maybe many more people on death row are innocent. Using this device the board hopes that after reading this article people will question their own viewpoints on this issue, consider the repercussions of the death penalty, and perhaps even share the article and start a discussion about it with their friends and
Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.
If an error occurs in the procedure, the criminal will face a painful and cruel death. Even more horrifying, an innocent person can be placed on death row. “The reality is that there are few innocent people on death row; the vast majority of these inmates did, in fact, commit the crimes for which they were found guilty. These killers brutally took the lives of innocent victims. By not recognizing the lives of their victims as sacred, they cannot claim their own lives are sacred. In the end, the death penalty is an individual punishment for an individual crime” (Bowman and DiLascio). Although this quote tries to offer a counterpoint to the argument that the death penalty should be abolished, it still admits that there are innocent people on death row. An innocent man placed on death row results in two casualties of innocent men while the brutal murderer sleeps peacefully each night. Errors in the death penalty can destroy families, terminate friendships, and disintegrate love and companionship. Since there is no guarantee that every person on death row is guilty, it is too dangerous to risk more innocent
...d the crime in some states. This is because some states in the United States do not have the death penalty but have the life sentence. This can also be for different countries. For instance, if someone in one country or state gets sentenced to the death penalty, but then someone who committed about the same crime in another country or state gets a life sentence. One man in one country or state has to die while the other in the other country or state gets to live. Finally, the death penalty is unreliable and not properly used because most trials have some serious errors. A statistic by Columbia University Law School says that two thirds of all capital trials had some major errors. It also stated that after the cases retired, over 80% of the defendants were not given the death sentence and only 7% were completely free (“Innocence (In Opposition to the Death Penalty)”).
"And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in man, so shall it be done to hi...