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Nikolas Parker

Professor Stubee

College Composition II

9 April 2019

Abolishment of the Death Penalty

A major issue that exists within the confines of capital punishment is the likelihood that

an innocent person can be executed as a direct result of faulty prosecution. Countless instances

have occurred where innocent people have been put to death because of corrupt judicial

practices, false confessions, and evidence interference. Many states have already decided to

abolish the sentencing of the death penalty due to the moral backlash of the communities within

the states. However, other states still practice this form of a punishment as a way to deter

criminals from committing federal crimes. The United States does not have a strong enough

court system set in place to put people to death. As the society around us has evolved to conform

to the morals practiced by the twenty first century, it is imperative that our judicial systems

evolve as well. Our outdated courts are unable to accurately assess the guilt of victims, therefore

they should be able to have control over people’s lives.

Capital Punishment has allowed the United States to create a sentence that is greater than

life in prison. The court can rule that you should be put to death as a result of your actions. If the

court can gage what warrants the death of another human, it raises the question of what is the

value of a human life? Innocents who have fallen to the death penalty have had experienced an

unjust abuse of power by the judicial system. Amnesty International, a global injustice
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movement, believes that the “death penalty breaches human rights, in particular the right to life

and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Both rights are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN

in 1948” (Berlin, 2015). This outlines how capital punishment bends the rules of the legality of

this practice. This method of sentencing devalues human life and submits civilians to torture. By

practicing the death penalty, the state creates the ability to cause controversy amongst the

civilian population and creates the chance to take innocent life. The issue lies within the morality

of the decisions made by the state that we have no control over. This method of execution is

unsuccessful in it’s goal to ward off criminal activity because it fails to provide a real threat to

the criminal. People who are in the mental state to murder someone do not fear death itself. They

perform these actions with no fear of punishment because they are confident that they will never

be caught. Therefore, the death penalty acts as a major danger to innocent people because they

are the people who fear death and time inside of a jail cell. The ICDP, International Committee

against the Death Penalty state, “The death penalty lacks the deterrent effect which is commonly

referred to by its advocates ​(​2013). The death penalty fails to perform the goal that it was set in

place for, therefore, should no longer be practiced or sentenced. Capital Punishment needs to be

altered or removed in order to ensure the safety of American Citizens.

Since many states have already decided to abolish the death penalty, I would like to offer

a solution for those states who still feel that the death penalty needs to stay. I feel as though the

easiest way to solve this issue would be to put stricter laws in place in order to prevent the

improper sentencing of crimes. The Death Penalty Information Center states, "No matter how

careful courts are, the possibility of perjured testimony, mistaken honest testimony, and human
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error remain all too real. We have no way of judging how many innocent persons have been

executed, but we can be certain that there were some (1993).” There are too many variables that

exist within the current judicial system that could lead to the potential death of an innocent

person. Although jury’s are told to treat the situation fairly and with respect, it is impossible for

one to not subconsciously include their biases in their decision making. While I do not wish the

judicial system to become an automated process, there is too much human emotion in the

backbone of court systems that could taint the results of the trial. The possibility of the death

penalty should warrant a much more serious investigation where there is less hand on activity

with the evidence. This would limit the possibility of human error and make it impossible for

corrupt forensic scientists to skew the data or the evidence found at the crime scene.

Another alteration that could be done in order to successfully transform the death penalty

into a reliable practice is to come up with another type of punishment that lasts forever.

Incarnation for life already exists, however there could be another form of infinite punishment

that would deter criminal activity. The country of Madagascar practices the death penalty as well

as sentencing for infinite labor. “​During its visit of Antanimora prison October 2010, it found

185 prisoners sentenced to hard labor for life in that prison alone. This is the sentence into which

death sentences are reported to be automatically commuted” (2013). Alternate forms of

punishment would allow for further investigation into a person’s innocence. Using a method of

punishment that does not cause the immediate vanquish of the individual can give the court

system more time to verify the guilt of the victim. The Malagasy people of Madagascar still

practice the death penalty but favor the limitless work that criminals can be punished with

because it benefits society in a way that the death penalty does not. Putting criminals into
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stressful work environments can cause them to perform tasks and jobs that are unfavorable to

regular civilians. Turning this negative energy into a positive outcome will help offset the clash

in morality that the death penalty showcases.

Overall, the death penalty is a serious issue that demands for an overhaul. Many states

within the United States have already abandoned this practice as it is believed to be immoral and

disingenuous as a whole. The practice has too many issues that can cause the wrong

demographic to be unjustly murdered. If states continue to practice capital punishment, it is

imperative that the system is revamped in order to accommodate for the risk involved in the

sentencing. Other countries throughout the world have showcased that other forms of

punishment are successful at permanently punishing criminals without putting innocent civilians

at a serious risk. The differences between the death penalty and a permanent labor sentence

create an excellent contrast that showcases the fault in our current ultimate punishment. The

death penalty prevents the possibility to discover innocence at a later date and fails to follow the

morality standards of people today. Through technological advances and alternate forms of

punishment, I feel as though the ideology of the ultimate punishment for a crime can still exists

throughout the states.

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References

Amnesty International Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from ​https://www.amnesty.org/

Death Penalty Database (Archived Reports). (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-archive.cfm?country=Madagascar

Public Opinion About the Death Penalty. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/public-opinion-about-death-penalty

Innocence and the Death Penalty: Assessing The Danger of Mistaken Executions. (n.d.).

Retrieved from

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty-assessing-danger-mistaken-executions

Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000

Why the Death Penalty should be abolished. (2019, April 08). Retrieved from

http://www.icomdp.org/arguments-against-the-death-penalty/