Death Penalty Analysis
- Submitted by: justin121
- Views: 851
- Category: Politics: Philosophy
- Date Submitted: 04/27/2012 11:58 PM
- Pages: 9
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Fighting the Death Penalty
On Friday November 18, 2011 in Boise, Idaho two groups of men and women stood in the cold morning hours on opposite sides of the road awaiting word from the maximum security prison nearby of the first state sanctioned execution since 1994. One group held signs denouncing the death penalty while the other, composed of the family and friends of the victims, awaited word that justice had been served. At approximately 9:15 AM Paul Rhodes was pronounced dead inside the walls of the prison and those outside dispersed. The protesters left with a sense of defeat yet hoped that the news report of their objections to the death penalty would inspire others to analyze its use and condemn the death penalty before it is too late for another man or woman. The family and friends of the victim left with a belief that the ordeal was done, they could move on with their lives now that this murderer has been served his justice. They hoped that his death will serve as a deterrent for others and were assured he can no longer harm another individual.
Instances like the one described are almost common place in the United States since 1977. The issue of the death penalty has been called to question a number of times in various state and federal courts with a large discrepancy of its use from state to state. Upon full analysis of its use there can be little doubt that the death penalty is an ineffective means of punishment with the potential to harm innocent people and fails to deter others.
The most substantial argument against the death penalty is the possibility that an innocent person may be killed by the state. A 2009 Gallup poll has shown that despite 61% favorability for the death penalty, 59% of the poll believed that there has been at least one wrongful execution in the past five years. A 2006 episode of the TV show BullSh*t reveals this plausibility with the interview from a former death row inmate, Allen Gell, retelling the story of...
On Friday November 18, 2011 in Boise, Idaho two groups of men and women stood in the cold morning hours on opposite sides of the road awaiting word from the maximum security prison nearby of the first state sanctioned execution since 1994. One group held signs denouncing the death penalty while the other, composed of the family and friends of the victims, awaited word that justice had been served. At approximately 9:15 AM Paul Rhodes was pronounced dead inside the walls of the prison and those outside dispersed. The protesters left with a sense of defeat yet hoped that the news report of their objections to the death penalty would inspire others to analyze its use and condemn the death penalty before it is too late for another man or woman. The family and friends of the victim left with a belief that the ordeal was done, they could move on with their lives now that this murderer has been served his justice. They hoped that his death will serve as a deterrent for others and were assured he can no longer harm another individual.
Instances like the one described are almost common place in the United States since 1977. The issue of the death penalty has been called to question a number of times in various state and federal courts with a large discrepancy of its use from state to state. Upon full analysis of its use there can be little doubt that the death penalty is an ineffective means of punishment with the potential to harm innocent people and fails to deter others.
The most substantial argument against the death penalty is the possibility that an innocent person may be killed by the state. A 2009 Gallup poll has shown that despite 61% favorability for the death penalty, 59% of the poll believed that there has been at least one wrongful execution in the past five years. A 2006 episode of the TV show BullSh*t reveals this plausibility with the interview from a former death row inmate, Allen Gell, retelling the story of...