Death to the Death Penalty

Death is the one thing that cannot be undone. Whether the death was from intentional killing, natural causes, or a fatal injury, once someone’s life has been ended, that’s it. So, where does capital punishment stand? Many states have abolished it, but not all. Why is it okay to put someone to death for killing someone else? This was first conceptualized in the eighteenth century, as part of Hammurabi’s Code. His philosophy was “an eye for an eye”, and there were 25 crimes punishable by death. This hypocritical thinking was not brought to America by the Babylonians, but rather European colonists. The first recorded execution was a Captain from Virginia in 1608, for being an alleged spy for Spain. Capital punishment only first started becoming controversial in the 1980’s, when DNA testing became a factor in determining who committed a crime; when it would be known for sure who committed a crime, even if it was after the execution.

kill

In my opinion, capital punishment needs to be abolished in all states. One reason is because it is inhumane. There have been many instances of “botched-executions”. This means that something went wrong and that the death became long and painful, which violated the eighth amendment. Also, death penalty trials are known to be very expensive. A single trial can cost over a million dollars, and take years before a verdict is reached. This tax money should be used to reform the criminal justice system, and keep the crime rate low. Thus, the death penalty needs to be abolished in all states.

~Julia