The Guillotine and Capital Punishment

6/22/2023

vcxDuring the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, over 300,000 people were arrested. Of those people, 17,000 were executed by the Guillotine. Many of those who were executed were victims of mistaken identity, or were falsely accused by their neighbors. Today, over 30 states in the U.S. (including the military and federal government) have the Death Penalty, or Capital Punishment as part of their State Laws. Since 1976, there have been over 1,200 executions in America.
1. Do you believe the Death Penalty should still exist?
2. Why, or why not? Consider possible innocent victims, and consider mass murderers. Give your reasons for or against Capital punishment.
3. Use evidence from the articles listed (or your own research) to support your argument.

Articles:
Which Is Cheaper, Execution or Life in Prison Without Parole?
www.hg.org/legal-articles/which-is-cheaper-execution-or-life-in-prison-without-parole-31614

Should the Death Penalty Be Legal?
deathpenalty.procon.org/questions/should-the-death-penalty-be-allowed/

Death Penalty - Equal Justice Initiative
https://eji.org/issues/death-penalty/

4 Comments

Sydney Nguyen

6/26/2023 09:00:00 am

The death penalty shouldn't exist since it's costly and could sentence an innocent person to an unfair death. Before I read the article, "Which is Cheaper, Execution or Life in Prison Without Parole" by HG, a law information website, I assumed that capital punishment was cheaper than life imprisoned without parole. I thought to get either sentence, you went through the same trial and observation as the other, but granting Capital punishment is much more costly and time-consuming. Giving someone the death sentence is ten times more expensive than housing someone in prison for life since the process of appeals consumes the staff's time and guaranteed public defender's time. All those hours taken away from those people's day come from your taxes. Another reason the death penalty shouldn't be an option is because of the possibility of wrongful convictions of innocent people. Poor people will not receive the same fair trial as rich people will receive. The system allows innocent people to die by providing inadequate defense lawyers. Few people facing the possibility of the death penalty can provide adequate counsel to defend themselves. Instead, these people received lawyers that received large caseloads, lack of resources, witnesses, and forensic evidence. The Equal Justice Initiative website states that "most death penalty states don't require lawyers to meet the minimum training and experience guidelines set by the American Bar Association." The final way an innocent person could be sentenced death penalty is due to a racially biased jury. Kamala Harris, a U.S. senator, stated that "Black and Latino defendants are far more likely to be executed than their white counterparts." In the article, "Which is Cheaper, Execution or Life in Prison Without Parole" by HG, they showed data that in the 1930s, two-thirds of the people granted the death penalty were Black. Even if someone is guilty of heinous crimes like mass murder, I believe we should not have the power to take away their life as they did to others. We cannot fight evil with evil, and killing them would put their persecutors on the same level as them. I also believe that life in prison is more excruciating than dying. I believe that in prison, they will receive fair treatment from their cellmates for their actions and that living with those actions is more painful than death.

Arthur Hsu

6/27/2023 09:52:09 am

I believe that the Death Penalty should not exist since it has many flaws and costs more than a life sentence. Before, I thought that capital punishments were justified because some people actually deserved it and, "Yet a majority of Americans, quite reasonably, support the death penalty in appropriate cases, and believe that, despite its imperfections, it is constitutional" (The Death Penalty Is Appropriate). However, when I read the articles, it taught me a lot. First that "In death penalty cases, perjury/false accusations and official misconduct are the leading causes of wrongful convictions" (Death Penalty). Oftentimes, witnesses lied on the stand and falsely accused the defendants, which is a problem, especially when 87% of Black exonerees were sentenced to death while 67% of white were sentenced to death. In Georgia, it is 17 times more likely to be executed when killing a white person than killing a Black person. It shows how racially biased these death penalty cases are and is unjust, immoral, and ineffective. Second, most defendants cannot afford to hire an attorney, so they are appointed lawyers who are underpaid, overworked, and not experienced enough in death penalties. The inexperienced lawyers would show up on case day intoxicated or unprepared because of the stress they go through of not having adequate help from expert assistance, lack of resources for the investigation, and enormous caseloads. Also, it's ten times cheaper to do a life sentence than a death penalty. U.S. taxpayers have to pay between $50 million to $90 million dollars more per year to prosecute a death penalty rather than a life sentence. With that in mind, it would be wiser to do life sentences, and I think the person will deserve it instead of the death penalty since the treatment that will get in prison with other prisoners in there can teach them a lesson for the actions they did and live with the guilt of the things they did is more painful than a quick death penalty. In conclusion, I think that death penalties should not exist because of the flaws and cost of the cases.

Sean Contreras

6/27/2023 02:21:57 pm

The death penalty should no longer exist because of the pontential for wrong convictions and the racial bias that exist within the criminal justice system. The risk of executing innocent people an issue that cannot be overlooked. History has shown that racial bias are deeply rooted in the death penaltys execution, with an excessive amount of black people being executed. The death penaltys roots in lynching highlight the history of racial violence and discrimination in America. To have a fair criminal justice system, there must in replacement of capital punishment be access to rehabilitation, due process, and justice. This change would end the cycles of pain, destruction, and death that disproportionately affect communities of color. Cori bush's statement “Ending the death penalty is about justice. It’s about mercy. It’s about putting a stop to this nation’s dark history of lynching and slavery. It’s about making it clear that our government should not have the power to end a life. We must build a fair criminal-legal system on a foundation of mercy, due process and equity. We must break the cycles of death, devastation and trauma that have broken Black and brown communities like mine.” highlights the historical connection between the death penalty and lynching, emphasizing the need to confront and address the dark legacy of racial violence in America.

Deric Tran

6/28/2023 03:32:20 pm

The Death Penalty should exist because it would keep society safe. The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association said “[G]iving up on the death penalty would mean giving up on justice for crime victims and their families. The prisoners currently on California’s death row have murdered more than 1,000 people. Of those, 229 were children, 43 were peace officers, and 294 of the victims were sexually assaulted and tortured. Having a functional death penalty law will help us protect the public from society’s worst criminals and bring some measure of closure to the families whose loved ones were cruelly taken from them.”(ProCon). Having this penalty under the justice system keeps all the high-threat criminals safely away from innocent citizens from causing more harm than they originally did. For example Jeffery Dahmer, a cereal killer who killed 17 people and got sentenced to the death penalty. He got beaten to death. After citizens hear that, they can calm down and stop worrying about their lives being in danger. Therefore, Death Penalty should exist being it protects criminals from citizens.

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