Abolitionist Arguments Against The Death Penalty

Based on the videos and readings, the death penalty goes back to biblical times, in 1972 the Supreme court of the US found that the use of the death penalty as punishment was unconstitutional, but that finding was over turned in 1976, Since then 38 states allow the use of the death penalty for the conviction of first degree murder and treason. Today few states practice it; 86% of states that impose death penalty sentences are located in the south, with 45% of the executions occurring in Texas and Virginia. There is much discussion of the protection of the right to life when the death penalty is debated, the victim or the accused, who‘s rights are more important. I will discuss the different views that make up each side of this passionate …show more content…
The death penalty is thought by some to be a human rights violation; they state that the US receives harsh criticism because of our continued use of the death penalty, and weakens out moral standing in the international community. One of the abolitionist argument against the death penalty is race, the color of a person skin influences every aspect of the criminal justice system from who gets stopped to who is more likely to receive the death penalty. The criminal justice system is unrepresentative of America’s racial diversity. Another argument is that the many of the accused lack the financial resources to properly defend themselves, they are represented by lawyers that are paid very little and lack the experience needed to provide a proper defense. Probably one of the strongest arguments against the death penalty is the number of persons convicted of crimes that they did not commit, poor defense, prosecutors omitting important evidence, inconclusive facts, and pushing for political reasons to resolve the case. It is said that “Courts will always be fallible and reversible, while death will always be final and …show more content…
The first reason is retribution; it is a rationally supported theory that states “A criminal deserves a punishment fitting the gravity of their crime”. Lois P. Pojman states that “Intentionally taking the life of an innocent human being is so evil that absent mitigating circumstances, the perpetrator forfeits his own right to life. He or she deserves to die”. The second reason that supports the death penalty is deterrence, execution of convicted murderers would deter would be murderers from killing innocent people. The fact that many convicted murderers that receive the death penalty as punishment, spend a large amount of energy trying to either postpone their death for as long as possible or try to get their sentences reduced to life in prison. This tells me that even the most heinous murders are afraid to die. Many abolitionists say that the death penalty is unfair and should be abolished. The retentionists believe instead of abolishing the death penalty steps need to be taken to correct the issues that cause inequality in the judicial systems. Louis Pojman and many others support the death penalty but feel it should be expanded. “Who so sheddith man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Genesis