Valarie Lam
Evans
Humanities II
The Death Penalty: is Cruel and Inhumane
Imagine a long and sharp needle violently presses into your skin and into your veins. You are struggling to breath and your flow that your heart pumps in slowly starts to halt. You experience this hell for a gruesome seven minutes. Before you take your last breath, you can see your heartbroken and chaotic family screaming through the glass window. Just then, you remember that you are not dying because you deserve it but you are dying because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your life is being taken away by a completely flawed and unjust justice system. You are innocent. The United States justice system is so far behind the 21st century, where the death penalty …show more content…
In a heartfelt letter to the New Jersey Legislator, 63 family members of murdered victims wrote about the death penalty. “We live with the pain and heartbreak of their absence every day and would do anything to have them back. We have been touched by the criminal justice system in ways we never imagined and would never wish on anyone. Our experience compels us to speak out for change. Though we share different perspectives on the death penalty, every one of us agrees that New Jersey's capital punishment system doesn't work, and that our state is better off without it.” (The Death Penalty- Opposing Viewpoints). It is evident that even from the perspective of the victim’s families that the death penalty does not bring closure to their families, but instead inflicts an even deeper level of pain. The reminder of the caes and being forced to attend defendant’s death row appeals are often extremely time consuming and brings back the tragic memories of the lost of loved ones. “From 1982 until 1990 I lived day to day, appeal to appeal, decision to decision...The toll it took on me and my family was horrendous… Eight years of trials and retrials changed my mind about the death penalty. I learned the hard way that the death penalty is an albatross over the heads of victims' families.” said Jim O’Brien, who is the father of murdered victim Deirdre …show more content…
The capital punishment system was built on the foundation to execute criminals for committing brutal crimes along the lines of the first degree murder. The system was designed to execute those that were guilty and not innocent. However, like many systems, this system is horrendously flawed. However, death penalty is unlike other punishments and systems, it is an act that is irreversible. Once someone’s life is gone, it’s gone forever, no one can bring back the innocent life of an innocently executed person. The capital punishment system has brutally executed countless innocent lives as well as wrongly convicted many since the foundation of the United States of America. In the 20th century alone, 25 people have been innocently and wrongly executed as well as 343 people have been wrongly convicted and spending an average of 13.5 years in prison, while on death row awaiting execution. That is 17% of the average U.S life expectancy years spent in jail. According to a study done by the Innocence Project, there have been 325 people exonerated. Some innocent people have spent over 31 years in jail for a crime they simply haven’t committed (The Innocence Project). It is evident that no matter how much money or benefits the exonerees will/can receive after being released, it will never make up for the long lost time that has ruined family relationships, careers and
Evans
Humanities II
The Death Penalty: is Cruel and Inhumane
Imagine a long and sharp needle violently presses into your skin and into your veins. You are struggling to breath and your flow that your heart pumps in slowly starts to halt. You experience this hell for a gruesome seven minutes. Before you take your last breath, you can see your heartbroken and chaotic family screaming through the glass window. Just then, you remember that you are not dying because you deserve it but you are dying because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Your life is being taken away by a completely flawed and unjust justice system. You are innocent. The United States justice system is so far behind the 21st century, where the death penalty …show more content…
In a heartfelt letter to the New Jersey Legislator, 63 family members of murdered victims wrote about the death penalty. “We live with the pain and heartbreak of their absence every day and would do anything to have them back. We have been touched by the criminal justice system in ways we never imagined and would never wish on anyone. Our experience compels us to speak out for change. Though we share different perspectives on the death penalty, every one of us agrees that New Jersey's capital punishment system doesn't work, and that our state is better off without it.” (The Death Penalty- Opposing Viewpoints). It is evident that even from the perspective of the victim’s families that the death penalty does not bring closure to their families, but instead inflicts an even deeper level of pain. The reminder of the caes and being forced to attend defendant’s death row appeals are often extremely time consuming and brings back the tragic memories of the lost of loved ones. “From 1982 until 1990 I lived day to day, appeal to appeal, decision to decision...The toll it took on me and my family was horrendous… Eight years of trials and retrials changed my mind about the death penalty. I learned the hard way that the death penalty is an albatross over the heads of victims' families.” said Jim O’Brien, who is the father of murdered victim Deirdre …show more content…
The capital punishment system was built on the foundation to execute criminals for committing brutal crimes along the lines of the first degree murder. The system was designed to execute those that were guilty and not innocent. However, like many systems, this system is horrendously flawed. However, death penalty is unlike other punishments and systems, it is an act that is irreversible. Once someone’s life is gone, it’s gone forever, no one can bring back the innocent life of an innocently executed person. The capital punishment system has brutally executed countless innocent lives as well as wrongly convicted many since the foundation of the United States of America. In the 20th century alone, 25 people have been innocently and wrongly executed as well as 343 people have been wrongly convicted and spending an average of 13.5 years in prison, while on death row awaiting execution. That is 17% of the average U.S life expectancy years spent in jail. According to a study done by the Innocence Project, there have been 325 people exonerated. Some innocent people have spent over 31 years in jail for a crime they simply haven’t committed (The Innocence Project). It is evident that no matter how much money or benefits the exonerees will/can receive after being released, it will never make up for the long lost time that has ruined family relationships, careers and