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? asked in Politics & GovernmentLaw & Ethics · 8 years ago

Death Penalty : Opposing View?

I'm writing an argumentative paper opposing the death penalty.and I'm stuck. So far i have Redemption, and Unfair Trials. I need two more points against it. Under unfair trials it includes mental illness, race, and how it's different in other states. Pleas make sure you include THREE smaller facts like that. Thanks!

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  • 8 years ago
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    There are so many things you can use.

    The worst thing about it. Errors:

    The system can make tragic mistakes. As of now, 141 wrongly convicted people on death row have been exonerated. We’ll never know for sure how many people have been executed for crimes they didn’t commit. DNA is rarely available in homicides, often irrelevant and can’t guarantee we won’t execute innocent people.

    Keeping killers off the streets for good:

    Life without parole, on the books in most states, also prevents reoffending. It means what it says, and spending the rest of your life locked up, knowing you’ll never be free, is no picnic. Two big advantages:

    -an innocent person serving life can be released from prison

    -life without parole costs less than the death penalty

    Costs, a big surprise to many people:

    Study after study has found that the death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison. The process is much more complex than for any other kind of criminal case. The largest costs come at the pre-trial and trial stages. These apply whether or not the defendant is convicted, let alone sentenced to death.

    Crime reduction (deterrence):

    Homicide rates for states that use the death penalty are consistently higher than for those that don’t. The most recent FBI data confirms this. For people without a conscience, fear of being caught is the best deterrent. The death penalty is no more effective in deterring others than life sentences.

    Who gets it:

    The death penalty magnifies social and economic inequalities. It isn't reserved for the worst crimes, but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. Practically everyone sentenced to death had to rely on an overworked public defender.

    Victims:

    Like no other punishment, it subjects families of murder victims to a process which makes healing even harder. Even families who have supported it in principle have testified to the protracted and unavoidable damage that the death penalty process does to families like theirs and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.

    It comes down to whether we should keep the death penalty for retribution or revenge.

    Do you need/want sources???

  • 8 years ago

    Just googled death penalty pros and cons and only got 12,600,000 hits. No wonder ya cain't findya nuthin'.

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