According to the Merriam Webster dictionary death penalty is defined by death as a

punishment given by a court of law for very serious crimes. In this debate we are trying to
abolish the death penalty, abolish mean to end the observance or effect of. According to
deathpenaltyinfo.org the death penalty has dated back all the way to eighteenth century BC
taking part in the code of King HAM-A-ROBBYi of Babylon. It is a common misconception that if
things have been in effect for a very long time that makes them right. Although the death penalty
has taken part in government for a very long time, this does not however make it right. There
are so many things wrong with death penalty in current day.
Contention 1, the death penalty can put innocent lives at risk. Believe it or not court
cases are unfairly ruled all the time but with something as extreme as death when something is
incorrectly ruled it becomes a big deal.
Since 1973 there have been at least 121 people that have been released from death row
after their innocence was proved. What that really means is if it weren't for someone who
discovered an unknown piece of evidence innocent lives would have been taken.
Another problem is that even when someone is proven innocent while they are on death
row, often times it is not by the justice system. Recently in Illinois journalism students were
assigned to investigate the case of a man on death row. After a thorough investigation the
students discovered that one of the witnesses lied hence saving the man's life.
Now onto Contention 2, the death penalty costs way too much money. Some wrongfully
believe that it would cost less to just put prisoners to death. However this is wrong because it is
in fact the opposite.
According to www.deathpenaltyinfo.org cases with out the death penalty cost about
740,000 dollars while cases where the death penalty is sought can cost up to 1.26 million
Another reason is that the cost of cases with the death penalty can be very
unpredictable. In 1998 there was a murder and robbery case and it was originally believed that it
would cost 500000 to 700000 dollars. After further investigation the court had to pay over
300000 more than what they originally had to.
Finally moving on to Contention 3, We believe that the death penalty does not even
deter crime. We believe the death penalty was created to punish people for serious crimes and
to intimidate people so that they don't commit crimes, however we have found several credible
sources saying that death penalty doesn't even deter crime. According to nccadp.org There is
no evidence that the death penalty deters crime. Furthermore according NC department of
justice the crime rate declines in the years after the death penalty is abolished.
After these three contentions and the sources we cited we strongly urge the judges to
pick our side as the winner of the debate. Thank You.