Human life is arguably the most precious thing on this planet, and the decision to take that life away should not be taken lightly. Nearly every major country in the world has abolished the use of capital punishment in their legal system. The United States, however, has not. In America, thirty-four states allow the death penalty, most of whom use lethal injection when executing these cases. But, the question isn’t is lethal injection humane, but rather, is execution itself humane and is the United States court qualified to make that decision. The answer is no. Capital punishment is not justifiable, no matter the method, as these crimes are usually linked to mental illness, prison has proved a more reliable method for rehabilitation, and the
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A person who commits a capital offense, and does not receive the death penalty, is sentenced to life imprisonment. For many, this is a crueler and harsher punishment for the inmate, who will now have all of his freedoms taken from him. However, prison isn’t just a place for punishment, but for recovery, and has systems in place that allow for group and individual therapy for inmates. Having access to professional talk therapy is highly successful and has proven to reduce violence by nearly 83% in prisons that implemented this into their schedules. (James Gilligan NY Times) Prisons also create educational programs that allow for the inmates to receive lessons and schoolwork as well as provide medication and prescriptions for inmates that suffer from mental illnesses, such as Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia. This allows the prisoners to stabilize their mental and emotional state, especially if they had little to no access to these medications …show more content…
In a study done by Prof. David Baldus and George Woodworth, it was shown that the odds of an African-American person receiving the death penalty is nearly four times higher than if the prisoner is white. (Deiter, Richard C.) In fact, district attorneys, who play a key role in determining the outcome of these cases, are nearly 98% white and only 1% Black, and when a study was done in every state that allows the penalty, 96% of these reviews proved that racial bias was a continuing pattern in the system. No reform has been made to counteract these studies or reform them, except for Kentucky’s passing of the Racial Justice Act. (Deiter, Richard C.) There is no fairness in a decision if racism has tainted
A person who commits a capital offense, and does not receive the death penalty, is sentenced to life imprisonment. For many, this is a crueler and harsher punishment for the inmate, who will now have all of his freedoms taken from him. However, prison isn’t just a place for punishment, but for recovery, and has systems in place that allow for group and individual therapy for inmates. Having access to professional talk therapy is highly successful and has proven to reduce violence by nearly 83% in prisons that implemented this into their schedules. (James Gilligan NY Times) Prisons also create educational programs that allow for the inmates to receive lessons and schoolwork as well as provide medication and prescriptions for inmates that suffer from mental illnesses, such as Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia. This allows the prisoners to stabilize their mental and emotional state, especially if they had little to no access to these medications …show more content…
In a study done by Prof. David Baldus and George Woodworth, it was shown that the odds of an African-American person receiving the death penalty is nearly four times higher than if the prisoner is white. (Deiter, Richard C.) In fact, district attorneys, who play a key role in determining the outcome of these cases, are nearly 98% white and only 1% Black, and when a study was done in every state that allows the penalty, 96% of these reviews proved that racial bias was a continuing pattern in the system. No reform has been made to counteract these studies or reform them, except for Kentucky’s passing of the Racial Justice Act. (Deiter, Richard C.) There is no fairness in a decision if racism has tainted