wife on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death by jury. His last words before

his execution were: "I am an innocent man. May God forgive everyone who said

anything against me." The next year, the victim's husband confessed on his deathbed

that he [the husband] had murdered his [own] wife (Radelet, Bedau, Putnam 347).

There are an uncertain numerous amount of incidents similar to the one depicted

above, that have repeatedly occurred throughout the course of history. Two highly

distinguishable figures in the area of capital punishment in the United States, Hugo

Bedau and Michael Radelet, discovered in 1992, at least 140 cases, since 1990, in

which innocent persons were sentenced to death (Hook and Kahn 92). In Illinois alone,

12 death row inmates have been cleared and freed since 1987 (Execution

Reconsidered). The most conclusive evidence in support of this "comes from the

surprisingly large numbers of people whose convictions have been overturned and who

have been freed from death" (Bedau 345). One out of every seven people sentenced to

death row are innocent (Civiletti). That's nearly 15%.

than someone who murders a non-white person (Bedau 119). It is not surprising that

effectiveness of the capital punishment laws in the United States. Supporters believe

reduction: many additional police officers, speedier trials, or drug rehabilitation

innocent people is a damaging effect of the death penalty, but the majority cannot

at least, an urgent cry to society that the death penalty is a flaw itself. At least with a

Since it cannot, a different alternative must be enacted in order to maintain social

for 40 years (Bedau 402). Though some authorities are recognizing that the money

deadly mistakes that the death penalty has for the country (Mac Farlane 14779). Many

Some common words found in the essay are:
Correctional Services, Department Justice, United Supporters, Mac Farlane, Georgia Justices, Webster Dictionary, Hook Kahn, death penalty, Steven Barkan, Curtin Jr, Shumway Nebraska, death row, capital punishment, justice system, judicial system, millions dollars, sentenced death, life imprisonment, hundreds millions dollars, police officers, social programs, death row inmates, abolishing death penalty, life imprisonment parole, implementation death penalty,
Approximate Word count = 4279
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page double spaced)