Prof. Alsbrook-Jackson
CT: 101 Critical Thinking in a Diverse World
18 November 2016
Should we Still Be Using the Death penalty? Whether we are browsing the internet, reading a newspaper or simply watching television, we are bombarded with news of countless numbers of barbaric crimes. In the midst of dealing with an umpteen number of barbarous crimes many wonder, what should be done to deal with the uncivilized members of our society? One of the biggest controversies in our society is whether or not capital punishment is morally right or wrong. Since the beginning of human comprehension, we have been taught that murder is wrong. Capital punishment in its simplest terms, is a person with government power taking the life of another. …show more content…
According to statistics, since 1900, twenty-three people that are now proven to be innocent, have been wrongfully executed. Since 1973, more than 150 people have been exonerated from death row with new evidence that proved their innocence (Staff Report, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil & Constitutional Rights, 1993, with updates from DPIC). As humans, we are inevitably bound to make errors, should not hold something sacred as a human life as a byproduct of our potential …show more content…
Families that are affected by heinous crimes, feel a sense of relief when that person is dead and can no longer harm anyone else. Although the victim and the family of the victim’s status cannot be restored prior to the crime, capital punishment allows the people affected to feel some sort of empowerment knowing the attacker or attackers, were punished under the worst way of the law. For the especially cruel and barbaric crimes, the ones for which the death penalty can be applied, people who are convicted of such crimes deserve the worst punishment under our system of law, most believe is the death penalty. Any punishment less would potentially undermine the value society places on protecting