Capital Punishment An Unjust Solution

A detailed Summary of Capital Punishment An Unjust Solution

The three most recognized reasons for capital punishment are crime deterrent, eye-for-an-eye justice, and removal of undesirables from society. In fact, capital punishment has not proven to deter capital crimes in any state. Furthermore, in a sane and moral society the means of capital punishment (i.e. how prisoners are put to death) is anything but just. Ultimately society should aspire to the identification and remedy of that which causes the crime, not extermination of its citizens. It is patently absurd for a civilized society that has identified killing as wrong and inhumane, to endorse killing as a civil means of punishment.

People argue that the death penalty is a valid deterrent to capital crimes. This may appear to be a logical argument, but it is only logical to a rational society. That is, reasonable people would be deterred from committing a capital crime if they understood the consequence of the death penalty. However, people who commit violent crimes are most likely not acting rationally at the time they commit the crime. The possibility of being put to death if convicted usually does not make it into the perpetrators mind. This is especially true when the criminal is mentally unstable or acting under

When a defendant cannot afford the very expensive process of a capital punishment court case, they are assigned a court-appointed lawyer. Inexperienced counsels and lawyers are often assigned to these capital cases. These lawyers are typically under prepared, and over worked. A capital case requires hundreds of hours of preparation as well as court time. In terms of compensation for the hours they are expected to spend, these lawyers are paid ridiculously low wages. The result is often poor representation and sometimes-even misrepresentation.

The amount of physical pain caused by all five methods of execution cannot be measured. Electrocution, gassing, hanging, poisoning, and shooting are all methods used to kill capital crime offenders. There have been many malfunctions executing someone using these methods. In 1990 at a routine execution in Florida, electric chair equipment malfunctioned and each time the chair was turned on a six-inch flame leaped above the prisoner's head. There is obvious mental suffering for the prisoner, knowing he will soon die. It is common for the victim to wear a hood to mask the facial expressions and pain from the witnesses and executioners. With the hood on the prisoner is often viewed as an object rather than a person about to be killed.

Innocent people have been executed and will continue to be executed because of human flaw. Between 1900 and 1991 it has been found that there has been over 400 cases of wrongful conviction for capital crimes. Sixty-nine men have been released from death row between 1973 and 1997. In this century human flaws and flaws within the system have allowed at least 23 innocent people to killed.

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Approximate Word count = 1750
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English