The world has made great strides in protecting human life in the last hundred years but a few dark spots remain, one of them being the death penalty. The death penalty dates back to the beginning of time, an eye for an eye and a life for a life, At one time the death penalty may have been needed and may have been a deterrent to crime but, in the modern world there is no place for such a barbaric and cruel ritual. The death penalty should be outlawed because it is ineffective, inhumane, and unethical. Though some may argue that the death penalty is successful at lowering homicide rate and other crimes punishable by death, there is no evidence to back this claim up. That also means that there is no solid evidence that it doesn’t deter crime.
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All of the methods of execution are grotesque and barbaric. Some of the methods have included hanging, firing squad, electrocution, gas chamber, and lethal injection. All of the methods have fatal flaws, with hanging if the rope is too long it will tear off the head of the prisoner if the rope is too short the prisoner will be strangled to death. With the firing squad 5 marks men line up but only one has a loaded gun, this is problematic because it puts 5 people in the position of knowing that they could have been the one to kill a potentially innocent man and take away the life of another human. With electrocution the prisoner is strapped into a chair and then electrodes are strapped to the person’s legs and head. A 30 second jolt of electricity is sent through the person’s body and smoke begins to pour out of the head and the smell of burning flesh is present. It may also take several jolts of electricity to render the prisoner deceased. An example of a botched execution by electrocution is Mr. John Evans, he was electrocuted 3 times and it took 14 minutes for him to die. The electrode on Mr. Evans left leg burst into flames and his body flew back against the chair, both of his fists permanently clenched. Smoke and sparks began to fly out from under the mask that Mr. Evans had been wearing. The smell of smoke and …show more content…
By asking jurors, governors, and justices who should live and who should die, we are essentially asking them to play “god”. As ex. California Gov. Edmund “Pat” Brown said, “[It] didn’t make me feel godlike then: far from it; I felt just the opposite. It was an awesome, ultimate power over the lives of others that no person or government should have, or crave,” (Mitchell). However, Janiver Slick, a counselor who debriefs jurors after a trial, proposes the solution that sending someone to life in prison would be an easier, less stressful decision and would still permit jurors to uphold their responsibility for providing public safety without having to "play God" with someone else 's life (Slick). In summary, no one has the right to ask another person to dirty their hands with the blood of another life. For the jurors tasked with deciding if someone should live or die, suffer from many PTSD related syndromes and are many times exacerbated when a sentence is carried out. One study found that 81% of female jurors regret the decision they made during their case. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Everyone has certain rights that is afforded to them, the death penalty may violate these laws. The 14th amendment states that everyone has equal protection under the law, the death penalty then takes away
All of the methods of execution are grotesque and barbaric. Some of the methods have included hanging, firing squad, electrocution, gas chamber, and lethal injection. All of the methods have fatal flaws, with hanging if the rope is too long it will tear off the head of the prisoner if the rope is too short the prisoner will be strangled to death. With the firing squad 5 marks men line up but only one has a loaded gun, this is problematic because it puts 5 people in the position of knowing that they could have been the one to kill a potentially innocent man and take away the life of another human. With electrocution the prisoner is strapped into a chair and then electrodes are strapped to the person’s legs and head. A 30 second jolt of electricity is sent through the person’s body and smoke begins to pour out of the head and the smell of burning flesh is present. It may also take several jolts of electricity to render the prisoner deceased. An example of a botched execution by electrocution is Mr. John Evans, he was electrocuted 3 times and it took 14 minutes for him to die. The electrode on Mr. Evans left leg burst into flames and his body flew back against the chair, both of his fists permanently clenched. Smoke and sparks began to fly out from under the mask that Mr. Evans had been wearing. The smell of smoke and …show more content…
By asking jurors, governors, and justices who should live and who should die, we are essentially asking them to play “god”. As ex. California Gov. Edmund “Pat” Brown said, “[It] didn’t make me feel godlike then: far from it; I felt just the opposite. It was an awesome, ultimate power over the lives of others that no person or government should have, or crave,” (Mitchell). However, Janiver Slick, a counselor who debriefs jurors after a trial, proposes the solution that sending someone to life in prison would be an easier, less stressful decision and would still permit jurors to uphold their responsibility for providing public safety without having to "play God" with someone else 's life (Slick). In summary, no one has the right to ask another person to dirty their hands with the blood of another life. For the jurors tasked with deciding if someone should live or die, suffer from many PTSD related syndromes and are many times exacerbated when a sentence is carried out. One study found that 81% of female jurors regret the decision they made during their case. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Everyone has certain rights that is afforded to them, the death penalty may violate these laws. The 14th amendment states that everyone has equal protection under the law, the death penalty then takes away