Death Penalty Essay Example For Students

Death Penalty Essay During this class period today, seven adult men will be falsely accused ofcommitting a serious crime, carrying a penalty of capital punishment. This meansapproximately 51,000 adult men are falsely accused of committing serious crimeseach year. This figure is roughly the number of people who attended SuperBowl-Thirty-Three. Currently, there are 3,500 people on death row inthirty-eight states that support and carry out the death penalty while onlytwelve states have outlawed it. At the same time, more than half the countriesin the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Capitalpunishment is very relevant to each member of society. It is not just a maleonly issue. Every single one of us in this room has a father, brother, orsignificant others who could be affected. Capital punishment in America ismorally unjust and should be eliminated because it is cruel and unusual; itkills innocent people; and it is used in a discriminatory manner. Sometimescriminals suffer more dur ing their executions than is anticipated or planned. Though there isnt much evidence that proves the death penalty deters crime, there is plenty of evidence and studies that prove it does not. The latest FBI Uniform Crime Report shows that in 2000, the national murder rate decreased 3.1 % from 1999, with the smallest decline in the South. The South remains the region with the highest murder rate, 6.8 victims per 100,000, compared to 5.1 in the West and Midwest, and 4.0 in the Northeast. Since the death penalty was reinstated, over 80% of all executions have occurred in the South, the region with the highest murder rate. The Northeast, the region with the lowest murder rate, has accounted for less than 1% of the executions. A survey done by the New York Times also found that states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty. The Times report states that ten of the twelve states without the death penalty have homicide rates below the national average, whereas half of the states with the death p enalty have homicide rates above (New York Times, 2/19/00). During the last 20 years, the homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 48%-101% higher than in states without the death penalty. There are many more studies that show where the death penalty exists, there is a higher murder rate. According to statistics from the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report, regions of the country that use the death penalty the least are the safest for police officers. Police are most in danger in the South, which accounts for 80% of all executions (90% in 2000). From 1989-1998, 292 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the South, 125 in the West, 121 in the Midwest, and 80 in the Northeast, the region with the fewest executions. The three leading states where law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 1998 were California, the state with the highest population; Texas, the state with the most executions since 1976; and Florida, the state that is third highest in exec utions and in death row population. Finally, in comparing the rate of death by handguns in eight industrialized countries, the United States stands out with a rate of death by handguns that is much higher than the rate of other countries. The other seven countries are Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Britain. The United States is also the only country of the eight to retain use of the death penalty. In most foreign countries, gun control laws are more restrictive and gun owners are assigned more responsibility. According to Robert Mauro (a professor at the University of Oregon) it all comes down to one thing, and that is brutality. Many sources supported his idea when he says we are encouraging more murder by executing criminals. By killing a criminal we are stooping to their level. We are solving a problem by killing it. We are resorting to greater amounts of violence with our system. Mauro says it all in once sentence: So, as they say, an eye for an eye policy will leave us all blind. The fact still remainsWords/ Pages : 651 / 24