Introduction
The death penalty remains one of the most controversial topics of the American judicial system. As of 2019, capital punishment was legal in 29 of the 50 U.S States (CNN Editorial Research). Information from Amnesty International indicates that the U.S is one of the 33 countries that have carried out a death penalty within the preceding five years from 2019 (Amnesty International). The same report indicates there are over 140 countries that have abolished the death penalty (Amnesty International). That shows that it is a practice that is fast getting out of favor with most governments of the world. Therefore, in this paper, I argue that the death penalty is detrimental to the United States legal system and society because it violates the United States Constitution, it hasn’t reduced violent crimes in the U.S. since it was reinstated, and the imposition is irrevocable hence denying people due law process.
Supporting Arguments
Capital punishment goes against the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. According to the Eighth Amendment of the United States constitution, the Federal government shall not impose excessive fines, cruel and unusual penalties, or excessive fines (U.S. Const. amend. VIII). The Furman v. Georgia set out four principles to determine if a punishment violates the law. The first one is that the sentence shouldn’t be degrading to human dignity (Furman v. Georgia). Second, is that punishment shouldn’t be one that is rejected throughout society. The third one is a punishment that is affected by arbitrarily. Finally, the sentence shouldn’t be obviously unnecessary. The death penalty arguably violates both the first and second principles.
Also, capital punishment hasn’t reduced the number of capital crimes in the U.S. since it was reinstated by 1976, by the U.S Supreme court. A comparison of violent crimes in states with the death penalty shows that the states without the death penalty have consistently lower murder rates than the states that have capital punishment in place (Altman 225). It means that the impact of capital punishment doesn’t extend beyond offering a sense of consolation for the families of victims. However, taking one life for another isn’t essentially delivering justice; it is a form of revenge.
Finally, the implementation of a death sentence is irreversible, and that denies the accused the chance to benefit from new evidence or law that might require reversal of the conviction or suspending the death sentence. Information from the National Coalition to Abolish Death penalty indicates that 156 individuals have been exonerated from the death row between 1973 and 2015 (n.p). These are lives that could have been innocently lost if the sentence had been implemented. The only thing worse than a guilty person escaping punishment is an innocent person paying for a crime that he or she did not commit. In this case, the death penalty reduces the chance that the accused will ever get justice.
Counter- Argument
Supporters of the death penalty argue that it is an effective deterrent to violent crime. Studies such as Dezhbakhsh, and Joanna, which state, “executions deter murders and murder rates increase substantially during moratoriums” (27). But such hasn’t outlined the extent to which capital punishment deters violent crimes. Furthermore, such studies don’t provide answers on whether the difference in murder rates between such states could justify executing an innocent person. There can be nothing that can justify taking human lie, especially if the person is not guilty.
Conclusion
The violations of the constitution, lack of results, and denying people the due process of the law causing the execution of innocent people are enough reasons to revoke the death penalty. It is a debased form of providing justice that is outdated and shouldn’t be present within any advanced society. If, in any case, the American people seek to take steps to eliminate violence within its communities and the world in general, they must lead by example by removing barbaric acts such as death sentence as a form of punishment.
