It is not amusing that some states and jurisdictions still use the death penalty. The death sentence violates legal procedures and equal rights to legal protection. The U.S., Japan, China, and Saudi Arabia, are among the minority jurisdictions where capital punishment is still in effect despite being abolished in more than 70% of the world’s nations (Banner, 2022). Capital punishment is a divisive topic in the United States, with some states maintaining it while others have outlawed it or placed moratoriums on its use. The death penalty has been abolished in three states: Virginia, Colorado, and New Hampshire (Banner, 2022). The death sentence is barbaric in concept and practice alike. Therefore, the death penalty should be done away with since it is an inherently unfair and brutal punishment that might result in the deaths of innocent people.
The death sentence should be done away with because of the inherent racism in its use. The use of the death sentence is not an illustration of impartial justice. The United Nations reports that the death sentence has an overwhelmingly negative impact on the world’s poor, disproportionately members of minorities in industrialized countries (Banner, 2022). Several factors contribute to this, including police profiling, a lack of financial resources for competent representation, and free legal assistance is sometimes received too late to guarantee a fair trial. Many Americans who oppose the death sentence point to racial disparities as their primary concern. Despite making up just 13% of the U.S. population, data shows that 35% of those executed over the last 40 years have been individuals of color (Soken-Huberty, 2022). A deeper analysis by academics reveals racial prejudice trends. Particular attention has been paid to Virginia because of its historical connection to the first legalized use of the death penalty. Only those convicted of first-degree murder were executed in the United States, while enslaved Africans might be killed for a wide range of offenses. This demonstrates that the death sentence is discriminatory since it is disproportionately applied to specific ethnic groups.
The death penalty should be abolished because it may lead to the death of innocent people. More than four people have been wrongfully indicted for murder in the United States annually since 1900 (Soken-Huberty, 2022). There were dozens of people condemned to death. A commutation or reprieve was granted in numerous instances within a few hours or minutes ahead of the planned execution. Cases of wrongful conviction have been documented in practically every state and territory in the United States. Furthermore, they have not decreased in recent years, even as the Supreme Court has upheld fresh death penalty laws.
To make matters worse, a growing amount of data from the contemporary age shows that innocent individuals are often charged with crimes, even capital offenses, and some have been brutally murdered. Carlos DeLuna was murdered in Texas in 1989 for a crime that everyone knew had been perpetrated by another person; a fresh study on his harrowing case appeared in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review in 2012 (American Civil Liberties Union, n.d.). The circumstances surrounding DeLuna’s case illustrate the many ways in which a capital trial can go astray, including mistaken witness classification; wrongful convictions; police corruption; a bungled crime scene; destructed Forensic evidence; a poor defendant represented by an ineffectual and incompetent defense lawyer whom a competent prosecutor outmatches; and inadequate monitoring and supervision from the bench. Because of these circumstances, innocent persons may be put on death row.
Because it is so cruel, the death penalty ought to be eliminated. Executions have historically been carried out using various methods, including fire squads, hanging, the electric chair, and deadly injections. How strange and harsh is that? The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Opponents of the death sentence cite treatment or Punishment since it is an international agreement to stop such practices (Soken-Huberty, 2022). The death sentence is not explicitly addressed in the Convention, although it is often considered to constitute a form of cruel and unusual punishment. For those who maintain that capital punishment may be carried out “humanely,” botched executions remain. A recent study found that between 1890 and 2010, 3% of U.S. executions were “botched,” resulting in extreme pain for the inmate (Soken-Huberty, 2022). Despite being the most often used method, lethal injection has the most incredible mistake rate. The death of a prisoner who received a tainted injection might take quite some time. It is cruel and barbaric to subject people to the suffering that comes with death punishment.
Conclusively, the death penalty should be abolished because it propagates racial injustice, may lead to innocent people’s death and is an inhumane form of punishment. The use of the death sentence is not an illustration of impartial justice, as the United Nations reports that the death sentence has an overwhelmingly negative impact on the world’s poor, who are disproportionately members of minorities in industrialized countries. Cases of wrongful conviction have been documented in practically every state and territory in the United States, resulting in the killing of innocent civilians. Additionally, the death penalty should be abolished because the most lethal forms of killing, such as lethal injections, are used to execute sentenced people. Therefore, capital punishment should be abolished to promote justice and respect for life.
References
American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). The case against the death penalty. https://www.aclu.org/other/case-against-death-penalty
Banner, S. (2022). The death penalty. In The Death Penalty. Harvard University Press.
Soken-Huberty, E. (2022, September 7). 5 reasons why the death penalty is wrong. Human Rights Careers. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/why-death-penalty-is-wrong/
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