Death Penalty Essay 
ENG2D-101
June 23, 2014 Abolish the Death Penalty
Many believers of the death penalty see it as an effective punishment in part to the saying “an eye for an eye”. They see it as a way to discourage violent offenders and ensure safety in their communities. In practice, the death penalty does not single out the worst offenders. Rather, it selects an arbitrary group based on irrational factors such as the quality of the defense counsel, the geographic location of the crime or the race of the defendant or victim. Almost all defendants facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney. Hence, they are dependent on the quality of the lawyers assigned by the state, many of whom lack experience in capital cases or are so underpaid that they fail to investigate the case properly. A poorly represented defendant is much more likely to be convicted and given a death sentence. With respect to race, studies have repeatedly shown that a death sentence is far more likely where a white person is murdered than where a black person is murdered, thus suggesting racism. Without a completely uncorrupt justice system, the risk of putting innocent people to death via capital punishment cannot be ruled out. The death penalty, consequently, must be abolished. This essay will examine the examples of executed prisoners that may have been innocent, where this is used, the laws against this and how the implementation of the death penalty is subject and discriminatory.
With the advancement of forensic technology many people on death row have found to have been innocent of their supposed crimes after their death which means that the state killed an innocent person without real cause or warrant. An example of such a case was Gary Graham. Gary Graham was executed on June 23, 2000, in Texas, despite claims that he was innocent. Graham was 17 when he was charged with the 1981 robbery and shooting of Bobby Lambert outside a Houston supermarket. He was convicted primarily on the
June 23, 2014 Abolish the Death Penalty
Many believers of the death penalty see it as an effective punishment in part to the saying “an eye for an eye”. They see it as a way to discourage violent offenders and ensure safety in their communities. In practice, the death penalty does not single out the worst offenders. Rather, it selects an arbitrary group based on irrational factors such as the quality of the defense counsel, the geographic location of the crime or the race of the defendant or victim. Almost all defendants facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney. Hence, they are dependent on the quality of the lawyers assigned by the state, many of whom lack experience in capital cases or are so underpaid that they fail to investigate the case properly. A poorly represented defendant is much more likely to be convicted and given a death sentence. With respect to race, studies have repeatedly shown that a death sentence is far more likely where a white person is murdered than where a black person is murdered, thus suggesting racism. Without a completely uncorrupt justice system, the risk of putting innocent people to death via capital punishment cannot be ruled out. The death penalty, consequently, must be abolished. This essay will examine the examples of executed prisoners that may have been innocent, where this is used, the laws against this and how the implementation of the death penalty is subject and discriminatory.
With the advancement of forensic technology many people on death row have found to have been innocent of their supposed crimes after their death which means that the state killed an innocent person without real cause or warrant. An example of such a case was Gary Graham. Gary Graham was executed on June 23, 2000, in Texas, despite claims that he was innocent. Graham was 17 when he was charged with the 1981 robbery and shooting of Bobby Lambert outside a Houston supermarket. He was convicted primarily on the
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