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Final Column 1

The document discusses the legality of capital punishment in the United States. It summarizes that 25 states still allow the death penalty by law. However, the author argues against it because innocent people have been wrongly convicted and executed, and there is no evidence the death penalty deters crime more than life imprisonment. The document also notes that capital punishment cases are more expensive than life in prison due to lengthy legal processes. Overall, the author believes the death penalty should be abolished in all states.

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84 views1 page

Final Column 1

The document discusses the legality of capital punishment in the United States. It summarizes that 25 states still allow the death penalty by law. However, the author argues against it because innocent people have been wrongly convicted and executed, and there is no evidence the death penalty deters crime more than life imprisonment. The document also notes that capital punishment cases are more expensive than life in prison due to lengthy legal processes. Overall, the author believes the death penalty should be abolished in all states.

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As it turns out, killing is legal.

By: Sandra Carranza


Death penalty. capital punishment. Both are just fancy phrases that refer to the legal killing of a
person. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 25 of the 50 continental U.S. states
can still legally kill a person with the death penalty.
If there is the slightest chance someone can be wrongfully convicted, and then die because that
conviction, I do not believe capital punishment is in any way justified. Research from Proceeding
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America said if all people on death
row were on death row indefinitely, “at least 4.1% would be exonerated.” According to a CNN
article, there were 2,620 people on death row as of January 1, 2020. That would mean at least
107 of those people should be exonerated, but unfortunately, most are not. Some who are
convicted are found not guilty months or even years after they are put to death. These mistakes
should not be happening.
Many people are led to believe that having a death penalty in place will deter murders and capital
crime from happening in the first place. However, the truth is there is no proof to back up that
statement. In fact, the Death Penalty Information Center said there is no link between the death
penalty and a decline in crime. I believe if a person is in the mindset where they can justify
murdering someone, no law is going to make them change their mind.
Some may even believe the death penalty is less expensive than life imprisonment; however, that
is not usually true. A case with a death penalty conviction requires a lengthier legal process,
involving repeated hearings, trials and appeals. Many courts, judges and lawyers are involved. A
longer process means more funds, which have to be provided by the state, are spent.
But even when faced with all these facts, some still believe the death penalty is a solution. To
families whose loved one was murdered, to the mother that lost her son or daughter – the death
penalty seems to be the solution. The only way to deal with that heartache and rage seems to be
to put an end to the person who took that life. An eye for an eye. But I would like to take the
liberty to ask those families to set aside vengefulness for a moment and consider: Won’t ending
the murderer’s life only be a quick death compared to the lifetime of loss they have put you
through? If your goal is revenge, then life imprisonment should be the conviction.
But is this the world you want to live in? Do you want to live in a world where the government
has the authority to decide when someone can die and the inhumane power to watch as someone
closes their eyes for the last time without doing anything to help? Do you want to live in a world
where a system plays God and decides when it is time for someone to die?
I know I do not. We should abolish the death penalty in all 50 states before more people are told
it is their turn to die.

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