Abolish Death Penalty

Thesis: I want to persuade my audience to support the idea of abolishing the death penalty. The problem is that innocent people are getting the death penalty. On March 17, 2008, the Georgia Supreme Court decided 4-3 to deny a new trial for Troy Anthony Davis, despite significant concerns regarding his innocence. Today’s stunning decision by the Georgia Supreme Court to let Mr. Davis’ death sentence stand means that the state of Georgia might soon execute a man who may be innocent. Two million in legal fees for death penalty are four times higher than other trials. 75 death row inmates have spent 20 years on death row. According to deathpenalty.com, researcher Radelt and Bedau found 23 cases where innocent people were executed Conclusion: I believe the death penalty should be abolished. There havebeen many innocent people killed for being of accused of the wrong crime. If the death penalty is going to be used they should make that strong, solid evidence has been used. Abolishing the Death Penalty There are numerous reasons why many may feel that abolishing the death penalty is needed. Juan spent 17 years, 8 months, and 1 day on Florida’s death row. Although there was no physical evidence against him and the prosecution’s case rested on the testimony of two questionable witnesses, his conviction and death sentence were upheld by the Florida Supreme Court three times on appeal. A taped confession of the real killer, discovered 16 years after Juan had been sentenced to death, proved critical to his clemency. The United States is the only western democracy that still uses the death penalty as a form of punishment. According to Deathpenalty.com, out of 400 innocent people convicted of capital crimes they did not commit, 23 were executed. Execution of an innocent person is an injustice that cannot be rectified. As a result of this study, I think that we should abolish the death penalty in