Death Penalty

In all the years the death penalty has been in use people always have debated if it is right or wrong. Some believe it’s right because it will lower crime rates. Others say that it is wrong and it should be eliminated from the judicial system. I believe that the death penalty is immoral and should never be used. Many countries and states have different beliefs what a person’s punishment should be, but the death penalty is just out of the question. The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment (against eighth amendment), costly for the state, and many wrongful executions have been made due to judicial errors.

The death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore against the eighth amendment. As read in, The Death Penalty, “However advanced the aesthetics of a state death, an execution is still a killing, a legal homicide.” Author Nicholas Jenkins is basically saying that the government is killing people in laws name, which is true. Execution harms a person mentally and physically and is the same if not worse than torture. For example, on April 22, 1983, a man named John Evans was put to death by electrocution. After the first jolt of electricity, sparks and flames erupted from the electrode connected to Evans. The electrode burst into attached to Evans's leg. The electrode burst from the strap holding it in place and caught on fire. Smoke and sparks also came out from under the hood in the vicinity of Evans's left temple. Two physicians entered the chamber and found a heartbeat. The electrode was reattached to his leg, and another jolt of electricity was applied, this resulted in more smoke and burning flesh. Again the doctors found a heartbeat. Ignoring the pleas of Evans's lawyer, a third jolt of electricity was applied. The execution took 14 minutes and left Evans's body charred and smoldering. This is one of many horror stories that has made the death penalty a brutal immoral act. As long as the death penalty is kept legal, there will be a lot more horror stories that will occur in the future.

According to Amnesty International, in the United States, 95 prisoners have been released from death row due to their innocence proven by evidence in court. The United States has executed a total of 598 death row prisoners since the death penalty was resumed in 1977. Today over half the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in either their government or practice. Unfortunately, there is a high chance it will be reintroduced. Since 1973 there have been 23 wrongful executions in the United States. Many people have come close to execution after being under sentence of death due to unreliable witnesses, weak evidence, police errors, and e.t.c. As long as the death penalty stands, there will always be a risk of wrongful executions. The death penalty is the most final punishment possible. We should never use capitol punishment if the judge or jury is not 100% sure that they are guilty. The fact that it is impossible to be 100% sure about anything, the death penalty should never be used. An innocent person who has been executed can