The Death Penalty

The very first question that comes to mind when thinking about the death penalty is: Does this person deserve to die? This question could mean a variety of things, whether it be was their crime bad enough, or did they even commit the crime. One of the more famous recent cases, the Casey Anthony trial, discussed this question. Even after Ms. Anthony was acquitted, the majority of people believe she is guilty. This poses another question: Is our justice system doing a good enough job? One of the questions Mr. Kramer asked us was, do you believe that this system is sufficient to guarantee that only the guilty are convicted? No. Maybe someday with the advancement of technology we can come very very close, but I don't believe that justice systems can ever become completely clean.

After reading the different methods of execution I was stunned. I couldn't believe how painful each of the methods seemed. Reading about the grueling details (eyes popping out, burnt skin, blood and vomit, drool, and uncontrollable movement of limbs), made me sick. I didn't want to keep reading, that how bad it was. Here's the link: http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/methods/contents.htm, I definitely recommend checking it out. Although none of them are very humane, I would say the lethal injection is the most humane. This is only because the victim feels the least amount of pain (unless the vein is "bad").

I just looked at a variety of charts about the death penalty in terms of race, region, and numbers. The most influential chart I saw was one on racial discrimination. In cases with a white defendant against a black victim, 17 people have been executed. In cases with a white victim and a black defendant, 255 people have been executed. Do you see any problem with that? That means that with these types of interrecial cases, 15 black people die before one white person. After reading about all the information surrounding the death penalty. I have changed my mind. Before I was completely for the death penalty because it was "quicker." I quickly learned that "quicker" doesn't mean better.