Sunjida khanam, Argumentative Essay(Death penalty)

The topic I have selected is the Death penalty. I was reading the article death penalty update by Mary H. Cooper, and the information I have gained even made me feel more strongly about going against the death penalty. I must openly say that I am 100% against Death Penalty and believe that they should take that out of the system of this country.

            The article “death penalty update” gives us much information about what is going on with the death penalty in America. It is very harsh to know that 38 states take part in it, and New York is one of them, but they haven’t executed anyone yet. The death penalty was reinstated in 1976, and since then, the execution of the death penalty has been increasing tremendously. It is also very harsh to say that about 3517 people are waiting to be executed. The article has given us statistics that about 75 inmates were released from death row after proving that they were wrongly convicted. Statistics show that among seven people, one person is innocent. By law, we all are supposed to be equal, but in the case of the justice system, there are problems with race discrimination. If you are black, you have a higher chance of facing the death penalty. Many people believe that the wrongdoers must be punished, and I agree, but killing that person does not agree. There is also conflict with mentally ill people because according to the eight amendments, it is prohibited to kill mentally ill people, but 12 of them have been executed since 1976. Only 12 states prohibited the death penalty for mentally ill people. There are many stories of people who were able to get out of execution in the last days of execution just because they couldn’t prove that they were innocent, and I am pretty sure that many innocent people have died from it. 

Based on the article “Wrongful Convictions” by Barbara Mantel, about or more than 3 thousand people who are wrongfully convicted have been exonerated since 1989. Together, they have served 26 thousand and 700 years in prison. We must understand the meaning of the term “exonerated,” and it means an innocent person was convicted of a crime and served in prison for a crime that they never committed. A person name Kevin Strickland was released from prison after serving 43 years. He was 62 years old, and he has always claimed that he did not commit the crime. I hope that this information helps us to understand how we all as a citizen of the country can be treated if we just fall in the wrong place at the wrong time. The article also shares that false accusation is 61 percent and official misconduct is 56 percent. At the same time, the percentage of exoneration has increased heavily, and that alone proves that many innocent people are being taken as a criminal, and they cannot prove that they are innocent unless they get lucky.

According to “Death penalty debates,” the rate of the people supporting the death penalty is declining, but about 55 percent are supporting the death penalty. The death penalty supporters keep bringing up horrific cases, such as the case of Steven Hayes, who have killed and raped a family in Connecticut. People that are against the death penalty are talking about innocent people, such as Kevin Strickland. There are more innocent people being convicted than a few of these horrific cases.

In conclusion, I must say that there should not be any death penalty at all. It doesn’t mean that the criminal should be punished; every criminal should be punished but should also be given time and procedures to prove innocent, and the death penalty should not be an outcome of any crime. We have no right to take any life of another human being. At the same time, in order to save one innocent person, I can go against the death penalty. It is proven that the majority of the times, some innocent people are being convicted, and they lose their life behind bars and get nothing from it, but it destroys a family from it. If you think of that situation, then what good are you comparing to the horrific case of Steven Hayes? Just like him, you’re also killing another family, and no one has that right.