Abbie Wells

HELA II
Rager-2
19 February 2015
Death Penalty
How far would you go to get revenge? Thats how some people today view the death
penalty or capital punishment. In the society we live in today, there are many desperate people
who do insane up things. But do they really disserve death? In America you can receive the death
penalty in 37/50 states. Whether that is good or bad, who can say for sure? We are living in a
cruel world and its not getting any better. Which leads to the question of; kill them or punish
them?
Capital punishment in America dates all the way back to 1608 in Jamestown colony of
Virginia where the first recorded death penalty in America occurred. People have always
naturally opposed the death penalty, in 1847 Michigan was the first state to abolish capital
punishment for all crimes except treason. This inspired nine other states to form groups wanting
similar laws.
In the normal humans mind the death penalty would be defined as the killing of a human
who breaks a certain law, and thats exactly what it is. Criminals these days do awful things,
Warner, who was convicted of raping and murdering an 11 month old (Mark Berman,
Washington Paper). Though the criminal committed a very serious crime, most people just want
the justice of having them killed. To put the bad guys away would just take up more room in
prisons that we don't have. Then we ask ourselves: Is it better to make them suffer for life in
prison for their awful crimes, or should we just get rid of them?

There are others though that look at this subject in black and white. They dont care what
the criminal did to deserve it. In some cases, the use of killing the criminal goes wrong, A state
investigation later determined that the execution team failed to properly place the intravenous
needle to deliver the lethal injection drugs to Lockett. The review also found that there were
problems with this team's training and the way they handled the execution as well as the
confusion that reigned after it became clear the execution was going awry. (Mark Berman,
Washington post). In this case, the criminal was in pain while the execution was being done. it
later states that unnecessary pain before death should not happen. People want their revenge for
the abuse to the community, but they are most likely grieving an in the right mind, why would
you wish murder on anyone?
When it comes down to it, it is just human nature. Does it feel natural to murder or torture
someone for their life? Humane people say would say neither. In 2014, 35 people were given the
death penalty. Was it 35 too many, not my place to say. But it was 35 people who could have
gotten help. Out of the 35, were any falsely executed? At the same time, they were also 35
people who committed unbearable crimes to our community. They were people who tortured,
raped, killed, and harassed innocent others. They are the bad guys, but are we sure we know
whats best when dealing with them? We need to take a stand on the death penalty, like the 13
states already have.

Works Cited

"Capital Punishment." Supreme Court Drama: Cases That Changed America. Ed. A
Walton Litz, et al. Vol. 2: Capital Punishment/Criminal Law & Procedure/Family

Law/Juries/Juvenile Law & Justice/Search and Seizure. Detroit: UXL, 2001. 253-259. Gale
Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Facts about the Death Penalty. Washington, DC: Death Penalty Information Center,
1999. FactSheet. DPIC, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2015

Berman, Mark. "Oklahoma Carries Out First Execution Since Botch After Supreme..."
Washington Post. 15 Jan. 2015: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 19 Feb. 2015