Abolishing The Death Penalty

We often think of the death penalty as a cruel and unusual way to punish someone that has committed a cruel and unusual crime. Although this may be true, when has it gone too far ? When is it possibly okay to kill someone for doing something so wrong?
The death penalty has not been a knew modern way to punish people, it started in the Eighteenth century B.C.. There are however codes as to what a person could be killed for in this time. In the 10th century A.D. however hanging was the most common form. Britain was the main push or influencer on America when it comes to using the death penalty, when the Europeans arrived in in America they brought the practice of the capital punishment. The first recorded execution recorded in America was a
member of the first colony of Jamestown, he was executed for being a spy for Spain. There were many forms of execution such as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning to death, and impalement ("Part I: History of the Death Penalty," n.d.). From these times of punishing people we have evolved.
In the Nine-tenth Century is when a big change started to happen.
Many states began not to use public exactions and would start doing them in correctional facilities. The first to start executing in correctional facilities was Pennsylvania. Michigan was the first state out of many to abolish the death penalty. Many states began to follow behind Michigan, such as Rhode Island and Wisconsin. After the Civil War, the electric chair was introduced and New York was the first state to build an electric chair. Other states began to use the same method that had not outlawed the penalty ("Part I: History of the Death Penalty").
In the twentieth century began with trying to find a more humane way of killing inmates. Nevada found lethal gas more humane. There were more exactions in 1930's than any other decade recorded it was an average of 167 per year ("Part I: History of the Death Penalty"). Before the 1960's, the fifth, eighth, and fourteenth amendments were viewed as promoting the penalty. The view began to swiftly changed and was viewed as " cruel and unusual.
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Many that have been tried and found guilty of a capital punishment often times plead mentally insane. Although, this defense is only successful in less than one percent of cases (Miller, Chamberlain, & Vargas, n.d.). If found and proven one is mentally insane they can be exempt from the death penalty. Their was a case when a man named John Hinckley shot president Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley was acquitted by reason of insanity. Often people that get acquitted by reason of insanity some say they are " getting off for their crimes" (Miller, Chamberlain, & Vargas, n.d.). Also, if under the age of 18 are banned from getting the death penalty if they are the age of 18 when they committed the crime(Miller, Chamberlain, & Vargas, n.d.). In 1998 made the lethal injection their sole method of executing an inmate with capital offense charges. North Carolina has the death penalty, the state has not executed anyone since 2006 (Warren, 2015). There are over 1,000 men and women on death row in North Carolina (Warren, 2015). We no longer use public hangings, drowning, or even the electric chair. We know use lethal injection. Many are questioning whether it is right to kill with lethal injection; as stated in article by citizen times, "Courts are still wrangling with the question of whether North Carolina's lethal injection procedure constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, which the U.S. Constitution prohibits" (Warren, 2015). Some may also say that due to the fact doctors must give the lethal injection it goes against everything doctors stand for due to their code to heal. Some also believe that there is racial problem when it comes to whether to execute and what race is in the jury seats("North Carolina Capital Punishment Laws," n.d.). North Carolina also faces the problem of wrongly convicting and killing a man that could be proven not guilty. In 1973, nine people were exonerated and freed(Warren).
On April 18,2015 , a young women named Kimberly Richardson age 25 was shot in the back twice and killed by her boyfriend. At the time of the this occurrence she was also 6 months pregnant with the boyfriends child. There were no prier signs of abuse between the couple. The boyfriend named Daniel Joseph Steele was reported to be a security guard at the same mall she worked at and the weapon he shot the young women with was his personal gun it was not issued by his job. Although Kimberly had a great deal of injuries with her last dying breath she called 911 and told them who shot her. She was rushed to the hospital where she died but she gave birth to a little girl named Lacy.
Daniel Joseph Steele confessed to killing Kimberly and even told the police where the murder weapon was that he shot and killed her with.
The family desperately wanted him to pay this awful crime and wanted him to face the death penalty but was scared he would get out of it. That is just what happened, Daniel took a plea bargin. He was sentenced 20 years for the murder of Kimberly and faced an extra 12 years for almost killing an unborn child([e-mail], n.d.). The child now faces 24 hour around the clock car, she can not do anything on her own not even breath she has an oxygen tank. I asked a close friend of Kimberly's, " Do you believe he should have faced the death penalty ? " her response was " Hell yes, he did not have the guts to look her in her face and shot her he waited till she turned around. How could he try to kill his unborn child?" (A. L.
Carter).
If we are talking about North Carolina or any other state in the U.S. are all struggling with the contradictions of the death penalty.