As mentioned by the Death Penalty Information Center, these numbers are not necessarily inclusive of every case that fits within these categories. Thus, the very argument that these rates are considered negligible dark figures is the support behind the counterargument that the death penalty executes innocent people; the sheer possibility of innocent deaths is sufficient evidence of the system’s faultiness. Not only are there actual known cases that suggest that the system was faulty in its accusations, but the fact that a rate of innocent executions even exists is enough incentive for protest against the system. Therefore, because the success rate of capital punishment is not one hundred percent, it is logical to argue that capital punishment should be abolished to completely eliminate the possibility of false execution; yet, even with alternative methods of punishment, supporters of the death penalty insist that it is the only appropriate punishment.
In addition to the argument that the death penalty’s rate of false conviction and of false execution are negligible, supporters of capital punishment argue that the system is ethnically just, suggesting that capital punishment does not discriminate based on race, gender, or ethnicity. However, contradictory to this claim, those who oppose capital punishment suggest that the system does in fact discriminate against minorities, particularly the mentally