Is the Death Penalty Morally Right?

There have been several disputes on whether the death penalty is morally right. Considering the ethical issues with this punishment can help distinguish if it should be denied or accepted. For example, it can be argued that a criminal of extreme offenses should be granted the same level of penance as their crime. During the duration of their sentencing they could repent on their actions and desire another opportunity of freedom. The death penalty should be outlawed because of too many wrongful convictions, it is not cost effective, it encourages racial discrimination, and the cycle of violence continues to repeat.

What is the Death Penalty? The death penalty is a practice where people are put to death as a form of execution. It was influenced from the Britains in the 17th century. During that time, minor offenses like stealing grapes could wound you up in that ordeal. Evolving from then to now, the consequence has been declared for malicious acts, such as murder. This quietus tactic has been used to terminate criminals.

• Wrongful Convictions. According to an article in Time, there may be more prisoners who are innocent than those who are guilty. About 4% of the convictions are considered faulty. For example, there have been over 150 people who have been contracted of their death penalty. “With that being said, innocent people remain unnoticed and the rate of such errors is ‘hidden'”. Figuring out the guilty party of a crime is a difficult task, yet innocent lives are executed by mere misunderstandings. Is it right to sacrifice the lives of the guiltless, because of simple paranoia?
• Cost Effectiveness. Because of recent prosecutions, people have began to question whether or not the economy suffers. According to an article in CounterPunch, about $4 billion has been spent in California for the death penalty alone (between 1978 and 2010). That money is usually conveyed from health care and public service jobs. The Death Penalty Information Center noted that the death penalty surpasses the cost of sentencing life in prison. With the financial issues in America, can we still afford the death penalty?
• Racial Discrimination. Shameful to say, race plays a role in deciding who receives the death penalty or not. Compared to recorded statistics, the death penalty is declared more to black victims than white. As of October 2002, 178 black defendants were executed for murder while 12 white defendants were executed. Out of that total of 190 only 15% of the men were caucasian. As you can see, race does help decipher the destination of criminals.
• Cycle of Violence. The death penalty is a inhumane action, and it only continues a cycle of violence. This approach is accepted because it helps the family of the victims feel some form of justice, closure. Life in parole seems more reasonable than the death penalty. It’s no secret that the prosecution has the risk of executing innocent people. This savage practice repeats brutality.

Prosecution should be abolished in America, because there aren’t accurate convictions, it doesn’t affect tariff, ethnic prejudice is stimulated, and barbaric activities are prolonged. The wrongs if this practice should influence society to shift their perspectives more to life in prison. Stop the executions, and encourage justice! Real justice is knowing that the criminal is imprisoned for the illicit deeds they’d done. The death penalty only enhances the negative views in our country and deepens us into recession.

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