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Fatima Fontenot
Professor Lawson
English 113A
December 10, 2014
Word count: 1315
The Death Penalty
The death penalty is slowly fading from the U.S criminal justice system. The
death penalty also known as capital punishment should be banned in the U.S because
taking ones life is unethical, although some might view it as fair it is not. There is a better
way to convict criminals and punish them. Wasting money on things such as an antidote
to kill someone is irresponsible on the governments part and it needs to be stopped as
soon as possible because taking a life is cruel no matter what the cause, or reason. Arent
we just as bad to take an eye for an eye if taking ones life is wrong in one way it is wrong
in all ways there is not right in this kind of situation.
The death penalty is usually perceived as being used improperly against poor,
minorities, and members of racial ethnic and religious communities. That means if you
are part a minority and convicted of a crime and is sentenced to the death penalty, there is
no way to get out of it because you have no power and if you are poor, you cant afford a
lawyer. The judicial system was formed that way for Americans way for Americans who
are wealthy to have fair trial other than the minority or a poor person they lose without
even an attempt of help. Thats why youll never see O.J Simpson on death row says
Helen Prejean referring to a man convicted of murdering his wife but did not get the
death sentenced because he had money and was able to afford a lawyer, of course if you
were not wealthy you would have most likely got the death sentence for a homicide.

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The death penalty is wrong. Aundr`e M. Herron a death penalty lawyer and now
on the Board of Directors of Death Penalty Focus, lost her brother and was divested
because he was murdered and was never able to find the perpetrator. She felt even if the
case went forward it would have made no difference because her brother was gone and
there was no replacing that. She feels the death penalty does not deter crime and is not
administered fairly or equitable. It does not bring closure and is costing the U.S a lot of
money. She feels we do not know how many innocent people we have prosecuted and we
should not trust the death penalty proponent, its about priorities and not about fair
assessment, rather than our priorities or rational decisions. She feels we must demand a
higher standard of our leaders and reject state-sanctioned killing.
Since the year 2012 the government in the U.S has had a shortage of lethal
injections for inmates. It has become a growing problem and continues to do so because
of the many prisoners that must have the injections. The dose is hard to produce because
it is really expensive and there are more prisoners than lethal injections. The state that
suffers the most with lethal injection shortage is Texas; because they are the most active
participant in lethal injection they suffer the most and have had a drastic drop in capital
punishment. Texas is forced to try a new drug combination that has caused them a lot of
lawsuits because of the inmate complaints. The government has neglected to inform
inmates family and them on how there death will be handled, that shows how
considerate the government is being. Most of the time inmates are male and not female
but they use the substance that contains potassium chloride that is not legal if inmates are
not informed of the protocol change and if not informed it is unconstitutional which is
illegal. Not only the death penalty is saying that killing these people are right they are

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doing it wrong as well they are testing on them like guinea pigs serving them a dosage of
dangerous stuff and not caring about the side effects or the inmate in general if that does
not tell you a little bit about our government and our judicial system I dont know what to
say.

In the U.S., the death sentences are getting lower every year. The only problem is
that there are still many people who support capital punishment when voting. Statistics
show that over the years in voting, Americans are more likely to agree with the death
penalty for people who are convicted of murder. When carrying out such decisions, it is a
slow process a part of the process is that the case has to be looked at by the Supreme
Court so they can analyze it. There are misjudgments and false accusations even when the
Supreme Court rules in favor of the case or if the case is accepted in court. There are
wrong convictions everyday so that means many innocent people are killed when they
have done nothing wrong. These are facts that are not brought up or talked about much
because these problems are not fixed and continues to have a large impact on how the
Supreme Court is looked at by citizens. This shows weakness when it come top our
system and is portrayed as a corrupt system because they are unable to do simple task
such as going over a court order as detailed as possible so wrong convictions arent being
made and so that there does not have to be a death sentence in the first place. This shows
poor judgment and nobody has room for that when talking about the fate of someones
life.
I believe the death penalty is a cruel and wrong way to treat someone for the
wrong doings they have done. I feel there is a better way to treat someone. Statistics show

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that 4.1 percent of criminal defendants who are sentenced to death are wrongly convicted.
A man named Leon brown was charged with first degree murder and first degree rape and
then convicted September 25, 1984 and spent 30 years on death row until September 2,
2014 where he was found innocent and the real perpetrator was found, this shows how
close we are to killing someone and innocent civilian who did not do anything wrong.
The messed up system makes it seem like the death penalty sentenced is good and it will
make you feel better when in reality it does nothing but hurt another individual because
of the pain you are feeling and having. Having an inmate rotting behind bars and having
an inmate live with all the wrongs they have done is far worse than just taking a life for a
life it is not right. Paying expensive money and wasting tax dollars on a trail or a lawyer
for a convicted killer who does not deserve it is ignorant and irresponsible on the
governments part. I feel keeping them in prison where they have live with the pain and
suffering they caused someone is better than giving them the easy way out and taking
their lives because it does not change the circumstance or the truth.
The death penalty is slowly dropping in the U.S criminal justice system. The
death penalty also known as capital punishment is not the way to punish those who have
committed crimes. Everything is not what it seems sometimes, people are wrongly
convicted and they have to die for nothing. Taxpayers are wasting money on the
government funded mess; the death penalty is a wrong penalty nobody should have to die
no matter what the cause taking a life in anyway shape or form is wrong no matter how
you look at it, In conclusion when thinking about capital punishment dont think of
revenge think of remorse and critically analyze the situation because in the end it does
not change the fact of the matter that killing is wrong even if it is backed up by the law.

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Works Cited
Josh Kenneth Death Penalty Debates. CQ Researcher 19 Nov. 2010.Web. 12 Nov 2014.
Mears Bill Death Penalty in the United States gradually Declining. CNN Politics .
Web. 19 Dec. 2103
ProCon.org.Richard C. Dieter, Ms, JD. ProCon.org.5 Sep. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
ProCoN. Ernest Van Den Haag, PHD. ProCon.org.10 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Nov 2012.
ProCon.org,Helen PreJea, MA, ProCon.org. 10 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Nov. 2012