Capital Punishment A Deadly Mistake - 1244 Words

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: A DEADLY MISTAKE. Imagine being asked to state your last words. What would they be? The execution of a human being is irreversible and should not be allowed anywhere. The death penalty is a crime in itself and should not be used as a form of punishment. I believe that the death penalty should be overturned in the U.S. because it is a slow and very expensive process that has been proven to be discriminatory in a lot of cases, and simply is immoral. IMMORAL Supporters of the death penalty argue that it brings closure to the victim’(s) family and that it is a form of crime deterrent. In my opinion, the death penalty is hypocritical and inhumane, it is the equivalent of the ancient barbaric†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Statistics show [†¦] that people who kill white people are far more likely to receive a death sentence than those whose victims were not white, and that black people who kill white people have the greatest chance of receiving a death sentence.† (Ballaro Cushman pars.11) In his 2008 article titled â€Å"The death penalty is losing† Glen Stassen points that the criminal justice system as a whole is grossly biased against [minorities] and against the poor†¦ In 2002, approximately 791,600 African American men were in prison†¦ The U.S. makes up 5% of the world s population, but it has 25% of the world s prison population. 48% of those in prison are black... One-third of all African American men in Alabama have lost their right to vote. With the death penalty, once a person is executed, there is no way to correct a wrong sentence. This is a gross violation of the human rights†¦. (pars.6) How can the justice system guarantee someone a fair trial when the accused can’t afford an attorney that can properly defends them? For instance, â€Å"Of the approximately 3,350 people on death row as of 2007, nearly all are impoverished, and many belong to minority groups (more than 40 percent are African American). Defendants who have the resources to hire private investigators, psychiatrists, and expert lawyers face much lower odds of ending up in the death chamber.† (Ballaro Cushman pars.12) Matt Pearce, vehement defender of