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Fowler 1 Shanelle Fowler ENG 101: Fri November 17, 2010 Some people believe that the death

penalty acts as a rational system. The death penalty does not represent a logical method. The United States should abolish the death penalty for these three main reasons. First, the death penalty costs three times more than a life sentence. Second, unreliable witnesses and faulty evidence cause a large possibility for error. Lastly, the death penalty acts as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. In contrast, many people stand for the death penalty because of the advances in science and testing. Errors frequently occur in evidence and lawyers and jurors sometimes presume wrongful conclusions because of this. The death penalty started during colonial times. Many crimes not limited to just murder, were resulted in Capital Punishment and executions were viewed by the public. In 1794, PA became the first state to use the death penalty for first degree murder only. Some states began abolishing the Death Penalty in 1864. The death penalty declined greatly in the 1950s. In 1972, the US banned the death penalty and considered it a form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment against the Eighth Amendment. The Death Penalty was resumed in 1977, introducing lethal injection as a form of execution. A life sentence in prison costs taxpayers less than the death penalty process. In many cases, states pursue the death penalty and then do not follow through with it, wasting a large amount of taxpayers dollars. A state may pay one million dollars more for a death penalty trial, and only about one in every three capital trials actually result in a death sentence that costs taxpayers an estimate of three million dollars (Dieter, Smart 16-17). The national averages of the costs of the death penalty versus a life sentence are difficult to find. The death penalty in

Fowler 2 California costs taxpayer $114 million dollars per year outside of the costs of keeping a convict to a life sentence. The death penalty in North Carolina costs $2.19 million dollars more than a life sentence in prison. In Florida, the death penalty costs $51 million dollars more than a life sentence (Death Penalty). Also, innocent people are sentenced to death because of faulty evidence and unreliable witnesses. Eyewitness errors can result from confusions or flawed memories. False testimonies from eyewitnesses can also evolve because of government misconduct by both police and the prosecution team (Death Penalty). Eyewitness misidentification is the single most greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing (Innocence Project). Unqualified experts can also cause innocent people to be charged of murders they did not commit (Death Penalty). Officials and laboratory workers can intentionally or mistakenly mishandle evidence through the process of gathering and storing of the evidence. (Innocence Project). The case of Cameron Todd Willingham shows an example of an unqualified expert. Willingham, who was charged with murder in January of 1992, pleaded his innocence to burning his own house down with his three young children inside. Dr. Gerald Hurst proved Willinghams innocence after the courts executed him. Hurst, a fire investigator, looked into the case and found that the original arson investigator came up with false evidence that he never scientifically proved. Many arson investigators, it turned out, had only a high-school education. A study in 1977 warned that there was nothing in the scientific literature to substantiate their validity (Grann, 14). Lastly, the US Justice System should abolish the death penalty because it contradicts the Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment. Lethal injection stands as the most

Fowler 3 used form of execution and problems can arise during this process that causes inmates to suffer and cannot show their pain. The execution team can make mistakes that lead to lengthy or painful executions. Execution teams sometimes have problems finding veins that lead chemicals into tissue and not into the veins. They can also mix the drugs incorrectly. The drugs can leave inmates paralyzed although still conscious, feeling severe pain. Some executions have lasted between 20 minutes to over an hour and prisoners have been seen gasping for air, grimacing and convulsing during executions. Autopsies have shown severe, foot long chemical burns to the skin and needles have been found in soft tissue. Hospira Inc., the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the lethal injection drugs, objects the use of the drugs for execution. Some states banned the use of lethal injection drugs on animals because the drugs can cause excruciating pain that can not always be seen, although the same drugs are still used for executing humans (Amnesty). In contrast, some think that the death penalty acts as a logical system because the advances in DNA testing offer accurate credibility in proving verdicts guilty. DNA from a crime scene can conclude a guilty suspect or eliminate an innocent one. DNA is a powerful tool because each persons DNA is unique. DNA is also a powerful tool because when biological evidence from crime scenes are collected and stored properly, forensically valuable DNA can be found on evidence that may be decades old (DNA). On the other hand, not all death row inmates have an opportunity for DNA testing. DNA exonerations represent only 12% of the total list of 116 cases. In 88% of the cases, attorneys and courts had to rely on other forms of evidence (Dieter, Innocence 17). Officials at a crime scenes or scientists working in laboratories can mishandle evidence deliberately or accidentally. So what if someone tampers with DNA or do not store it correctly? What about the 88% of convicts who

Fowler 4 do not have means of DNA testing which in some cases may be able to prove their innocence? The United States should abolish the death penalty because it does not represent a reasonable system because of the possibility of error and also because it represents a form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment. The cost of the death penalty is substantially higher than a life sentence, and in many cases, convicts are sent to death row for long periods of time and are never executed. Because of tampering and mishandling, DNA testing is not always accurate. The majority of cases do not even contain DNA evidence.

Fowler 5 Works Cited Amnesty International USA. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Death Penalty Information Center. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Dieter, Richard. Innocence and the Crisis in the American Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information Center. Sept. 2004. Web. 18 Nov 2010. Dieter, Richard. Smart on Crime: Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of Economic Crisis. Death Penalty Information Center. Oct., 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. DNA Initiative. The United States Department of Justice, 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. Grann, David. Trial By Fire. New Yorker 7 Sept. 2009: Print. Innocence Project. Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.

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