There will always be a difference of opinion when it comes to many issues. It is more than how someone personally feels, its politics, and the religious views of groups and the way a person wishes to be viewed by his peers is usually more important. It is hard for someone to stand up for something they believe in when they know that controversy and negativity are sure to follow. The way someone feels about abortion or racism are huge topics of discussion but there is also the other big one which is the death penalty. Should the death penalty be abolished as a form or punishment in the United States or should it remain?
The death penalty has been around in America since the first settlers landed. Back then, the death penalty was offered for many crimes that we could not imagine today. Such crimes as witchcraft, blasphemy, kidnapping, arson, adultery and grand larceny were all crimes that were punishable by death. (Baird, Robert M. and Rosenbaum, Stuart E. 103) These crimes were all crimes against the beliefs of the church and would not be tolerated.
Some groups main argument is that while our justice system remains to be imperfect and mistakes are still made in convictions of innocent people, then the death penalty will continue to send them to a wrongful death. (Amnesty International) Unfortunately, the United States justice system is flawed but most of the time it’s not by the evidence that is presented, it is the loop holes that lawyers find and enable fancy lawyer tricks to be used. The death penalty should only be used in 100% guaranteed cases of murder where the death penalty is offered. Maybe it’s best that a jury of peers who were not exposed to the trickery in court make the decision.
The pro-death side argues that if we do not use the death penalty as a form of punishment to deter those who are capable of murder, then we allowing them to kill by not putting the fear of death themselves into them. "If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call." (McAdams, John)
Jury selection is an important part of the court process. When selecting a jury for a case where the death penalty can be offered. Lawyers who are worried about their outcome will study the potential jurors and try to create a jury that will favor them in the end. (Haney, Craig 115) It is important that a group of un-biast individuals is selected but to allow the lawyers to pick and choose the people they want hearing their cases is all together wrong. It is one of the fancy lawyer tricks that I mentioned before that is used and should not be tolerated in a fair justice system. A group of professionals who can assess the psychological state of jury members and ensure unbaits results should be used to select a jury.
The state of Texas is the biggest supporter when it comes to the death penalty. They have sentenced more people death than any other state in our history. Its death penalty sentences topple over four hundred, over four times the next closest state of Virginia. (Death Penalty Information Center) There is even a "Cruel" Texas law that can sentence someone to death even if the person has not been proven to have taken any part in the act of murder.
The death penalty is too big for any one person to decide on and perhaps will never have a universal decision. People who believe and people who don't believe are usually too stubborn and one-sided to even give the other side a chance to plead their case. People need someone to blame when it comes to crime. It gives them a sense of security and safety knowing that those committed of a crime and dealt with in a proper fashion. Should the death penalty be abolished in the United States? I believe it should until people cannot be swayed by religion and trickery, and by an act of hardened fact. There is nothing wrong with "an eye for an eye". There is only something wrong with people who decide it.
Works cited:
Admin. Amnesty International. Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www.amnesty.org/en
Punishment and the Death Penalty: The Current Debate. Contributors: Robert M. Baird - editor, Stuart E. Rosenbaum - editor. Publisher: Prometheus Books. Place of Publication: Amherst, NY. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 103.
McAdams, John. Marquette University/Department of Political Science, on deterrence. Quote, Retrieved from http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/
Haney, Craig. Death by Design: Capital Punishment as Social Psychological System. Contributors: Publisher: Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2005. Page Number: 115.
Admin. Death Penalty Information Center. 2011. Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/number-executions-state-and-region-1976
