Ban The Death Penalty

Three thousand one hundred eight. That's the number of inmates counted on April 1, 2013, that are on Death Row. That's 3,108 human beings chosen by judges and juries to be punished, killed, or executed - however it would like to be called. How many of these people will be found innocent? Since 1973, 143 inmates have been acquitted from the Death Penalty, which on average had to serve about 10.1 years in prison. One inmate, Peter Limone served 33 years, 1968-2001, on Death Row in Massachusetts. How is he to get those years back? The Death Penalty is a faulty act by the juries and state courts. This punishment is inhumane and can be the cause of an innocent person being put to death. The Death Penalty - also known as Capital Punishment - is a hackneyed process where a person who has committed a capital offense is punished by the state with death. Crimes that lead to the Death Penalty includes (but are not limited to) treason, murder, capital drug trafficking, rape, sex crimes, and terrorism. There are five ways to execute inmates on Death Row: firing squad, hanging, gas chamber, electrocution, and lethal injection. Lethal injection - which there are two kinds of - is the primary elixir for executions in today's society. The one-drug lethal injection consists of a fatal dose of an anesthetic. The other germane injection, the three-drug injection, includes an anesthetic followed by pancuronium bromide for paralyzing then potassium chloride to stop the heart. Capital Punishment is a machination punishment for criminals. Judges and juries get to chose who lives or dies according to the evidence presented to them and their personal bias. The evidence has the possibility to be suppressed. For instance, the mendacious prosecution withheld evidence in the cases of Daniel Wade Moore - acquitted in 2009, Michael Toney - charges dismissed in 2009, and Reginald Griffin - charges dismissed in 2013. These, however, were not the only cases with concealed evidence. Also, confessions have been received with inhumane torture by investigators such as that in the cases of Aaron Patterson, Madison Hobley, Leroy Orange, and Stanley Howard - all pardoned in 2003. A paradigm of juries being biased occurred during the trial - consisting of an all white jury - of Delbert Tibbs, an African American, in 1974. Walter (Johnny D) McMillian, 1988, was convicted by the jury and judge even though he had alibis and witnesses testifying against him. One hundred forty-three people, since 1973, have been found innocent while on Death Row. Out of the 1,356 executions since 1976, there are many who could have been innocent. The actual number is unknown since investigations do not continue after the person has died. The risk of wrongfully sentencing a person is at a higher rate as more states use the Death Penalty along with the additional crimes punishable by death. Prosecutors and police officers are pressured to find suspects which lead to perfunctory arrests and possible wrongful sentencing. Additionally, jurors in death penalty cases are quizzed to make sure that they would use the death sentence if

needed. Jurors incapable of using the death punishment are thrown out, ergo creating a jury willing to convict the person of interest to death - even before the trial. It is true that the punishment must fit the crime. It is obvious why Capital Punishment is kept in the system, especially with murderers, rapists, and terrorists everywhere. Keeping loved ones safe is the most important thing to every person. A claim made by supporters of Capital Punishment is that the murder rate has gone down in the nation; but the true denouement is that states without the death penalty have lower murder rates. The Death Penalty Information Center states that murder rates "in 1999 among death penalty states was 5.5, whereas the average of murder rates among non-death penalty states was only 3.6." It is also understandable from a fiscal point of view. Citizens are paying for the minimum living requirements of prisoners. Death Row is expensive but only for a few years, until the person is put to death. Yes, it is expensive to keep criminals in prison for life. Yet, it is possible to come up with a new program to make inmates work for their living requirements. One thing inmates could do in order to work for their requirements is paint over graffiti on buildings and walls. Nonetheless, innocent people shouldn't have to die because of the wrongful punishment sentenced by judges and juries - both with personal bias and possible corrupted evidence. In the court, isn't it said that all people should seen as innocent until proven guilty? Too many people have been sentenced to death. Too many people have been found innocent while on Death Row. Too many people have been in prison for a wrongful sentence and lost many years of their lives. Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Death Row, punishment by death - it should be banned in order to protect the innocent. Isn't that the job of the government? Aren't local, state, and federal officials elected by what they can do for their citizens to keep them safe, healthy, and economically stable?

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