Death Penalty

Community Problem Report: Death Penalty

The University of Texas at El Paso
ENGL1311
November 9, 2015
Jesus Orozco

Death Penalty

Abstract
This paper was written to show why the death penalty should be opposed.
The goal is to show the faults of the death penalty and how it is more of a
problem than a solution. This will be done by examining botched executions
and various statistics.

Introduction
Imagine being witness to one of your loved ones being on a stand
pleading for his or hers life knowing that they never in their life committed a
crime, and yet they get sentenced to the death penalty. Would this be fair?
You might imagine this is happening in a third world country but no. Its
happening here in the United States. This is called capital punishment or the
death penalty. Many are for it and many are against it. Since its existence
there have been countless botched executions and many innocent lives
taken away by this type of punishment. This report will cover why the death
penalty is a unlawful punishment, waste of money and time, and most
importantly why it should be abolished.
Unlawful
In our bill of rights we have the 8th amendment which clearly states the
prohibiting of the federal government from imposing excessive bail,

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excessive fines, or cruel and unusual

punishment. The death penalty falls
under cruel and unusual. Is it cruel to
have to burn for 7 minutes before dying
while there are several people watching
you? Is it unusual to have your death
broadcasted to the world like a sporting
event or game show? The answer is yes.

Figure 1wikifoundry,2015

The death penalty has been known to be unreliable in many cases. There
have been times were the lethal injection talks 18 minutes to take effect but
the victim feels like they are burning alive and then there are the times when
the victim literally catches on fire because of the incompetence of the
executioner (Leach, 2015). If anything the death penalty breaks the 8th
amendment. There is no right way to take a life and it shouldnt rest on the
hands of someone who cant even do that right.

Waste of money
Statistics say that Cases without the death penalty cost $740,000,
while cases where the death penalty is sought cost $1.26
million(Bedau,2015). Maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers
$90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population. There are 714
inmates on California's death row. It doesnt take a genius to do the math.

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The death penalty is a huge waste of tax payers money. $1.26 million dollars
can help our struggling economy in so many different ways but is instead
spent on executing someone who might have not even committed a crime.
Conclusion
The death penalty brings nothing good to the table. Besides it being a
waste of money and it being more unreliable than reliable I believe that it
should be taken away. It is how uncivilized societies would solve their
problem, with public executions. We as a nation are not for the most part
uncivilized and I believe that we should let go of this worthless punishment.

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References
Bedau, H. (n.d.). The Case Against the Death Penalty. Retrieved October 26,
2015, from https://www.aclu.org/case-against-death-penalty

Bonner, R. (n.d.). Anatomy of Injustice.Book

Death Penalty Focus : 10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 26,

2015, from

http://deathpenalty.org/section.php?id=24

Latson, J. (2015, May 4). A Gruesome Historical Argument Against the Death
Penalty. TIME,com.

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Leach, S. (2015, March 28). Here's Why We Need to Kill the Death Penalty.
Retrieved October

26, 2015,

daylin-leach/heres-why-we-

from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-

need-to-

kill_b_6473276.html

Meyer, A. (2015, July 9). "I want people to know I didn't kill this man," Death
row inmate still

claims

innocence. Retrieved October 26, 2015,

from http://kfor.com/2015/07/09/i- want-people-toman-death-row-inmate-still-claims- innocence/

Walkalone. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from
http://walkalones.blogspot.com/

know-i-didnt-kill-this-