Why Is The Death Penalty Ineffective
The death penalty is an immoral and ineffective policy. In this paper I will show that the death penalty is ineffective and immoral. I will prove that it is ineffective by showing that it has been imposed on innocent people, targets racial minorities, and does not deter crime. In addition, I will prove that it is an immoral practice.
The death penalty has been imposed on innocent people in the past. Researchers James Liebman and Jeffry Fagan examined death penalty cases in a time period of twenty-two years and found that most of the cases were not conducted correctly, and that many of the defendants were innocent. Of the “eighty-two percent of defendants with death sentences that were overturned by state appellate courts. . .7% were found to be innocent of the capital crime …show more content…
This is evident in the ratio of African Americans and Caucasian Americans in the population, compared to the ration of them convicted with the death penalty. African Americans compose of twelve percent of the population of the United States, and they compose of forty-two percent of the number of current people on death row. Moreover, “in almost every death penalty [of a black person], the race of the victim is white”, whereas “[since 1972] only one [death penalty] has involved a white defendant for the murder of a black person” (Schmalleger). These statistics clearly indicate that juries impose their racial prejudices on defendants.
Crime rates do not deter in states with the death penalty. Many death penalty apologists claim that the imposition of the death penalty deters people from committing violent crimes. However, studies have shown that homicides in some states with the death penalty are, shockingly, higher than those without it. Moreover, it is also a financial burden to impose the death penalty on people. It costs more to impose the death penalty on someone than it does to confine them to prison for
The death penalty has been imposed on innocent people in the past. Researchers James Liebman and Jeffry Fagan examined death penalty cases in a time period of twenty-two years and found that most of the cases were not conducted correctly, and that many of the defendants were innocent. Of the “eighty-two percent of defendants with death sentences that were overturned by state appellate courts. . .7% were found to be innocent of the capital crime …show more content…
This is evident in the ratio of African Americans and Caucasian Americans in the population, compared to the ration of them convicted with the death penalty. African Americans compose of twelve percent of the population of the United States, and they compose of forty-two percent of the number of current people on death row. Moreover, “in almost every death penalty [of a black person], the race of the victim is white”, whereas “[since 1972] only one [death penalty] has involved a white defendant for the murder of a black person” (Schmalleger). These statistics clearly indicate that juries impose their racial prejudices on defendants.
Crime rates do not deter in states with the death penalty. Many death penalty apologists claim that the imposition of the death penalty deters people from committing violent crimes. However, studies have shown that homicides in some states with the death penalty are, shockingly, higher than those without it. Moreover, it is also a financial burden to impose the death penalty on people. It costs more to impose the death penalty on someone than it does to confine them to prison for