Have you ever been wrongly accused of actions you did not take? It is estimated that 1 in 25 people on death row is innocent. In 1984, a former marine, Kirk Bloodsworth, was accused and sentenced to death for the murder and molestation of Dawn Hamilton, nine-year-old girl. In a Maryland prison, Kirk worked in a library where he read about DNA testing and requested an appeal. Mr. Boodsworth spent 9 years in prison, two of those years on death row, to later be exonerated June 1994. Kirk Bloodsworth was the first to be released from death row due to DNA test results proving his innocents. Capital punishment should be abolished on the grounds of little to no scientific evidence of being an effective deterrent, extremely costly, racial bias,
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Capital punishment was reinstated in over 30 states and thought to be an effective preventative measure. Though many have tried few have been able to create scientific results on the deterrent effect of the death penalty. Several reports regarding capital punishment’s ability to deter were based on similar demographics, like crimes, and comparable regions with the little to no success of prevention. Psychologist and criminalist stated that research on the deterrent effect of capital punishment is fundamentally flawed; there are several variables that could cause different conclusions. Another theory is capital punishment could cause more homicides. “Suicide by homicide” is a term used in reference to someone who wishes to die and validates the murder of another. For these mentally unstable persons, this does not create an effective prevention …show more content…
(Love 1) In America, about 98% of prosecuting attorneys are white and 1% African-American. Those who murdered whites are more likely to face death than those who murdered blacks. African-Americans are more likely to receive the death penalty to others who committed like-crimes. According to the Amnesty International “more than 20% of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries.”(1) In the past ten years over 20 cases have been overturned in Alabama alone due to prosecutors illegally striking black people from the jury. While 45% of the convict population is white, and the remaining prisoners are
Capital punishment was reinstated in over 30 states and thought to be an effective preventative measure. Though many have tried few have been able to create scientific results on the deterrent effect of the death penalty. Several reports regarding capital punishment’s ability to deter were based on similar demographics, like crimes, and comparable regions with the little to no success of prevention. Psychologist and criminalist stated that research on the deterrent effect of capital punishment is fundamentally flawed; there are several variables that could cause different conclusions. Another theory is capital punishment could cause more homicides. “Suicide by homicide” is a term used in reference to someone who wishes to die and validates the murder of another. For these mentally unstable persons, this does not create an effective prevention …show more content…
(Love 1) In America, about 98% of prosecuting attorneys are white and 1% African-American. Those who murdered whites are more likely to face death than those who murdered blacks. African-Americans are more likely to receive the death penalty to others who committed like-crimes. According to the Amnesty International “more than 20% of black defendants who have been executed were convicted by all-white juries.”(1) In the past ten years over 20 cases have been overturned in Alabama alone due to prosecutors illegally striking black people from the jury. While 45% of the convict population is white, and the remaining prisoners are