Bill Richardson Keeping The Death Penalty Summary
Mahogany Graves
English 1A
Instructor Denise Pica
November 8, 2010
Keeping the Death Penalty In the article “Stop the Death Penalty”, author Bill Richardson explains his position on the death penalty. Richardson starts the article by saying that he used to be a firm believer in the death penalty; however, six years ago he started to have a change of heart. Richardson now feels that the death penalty is irrevocable and should be stopped. He continued by saying that life without the possibility of parole is a better option. There are a number of people who would disagree with Richardson. Capital punishment can be the only true justice in certain cases. The death penalty should not be stopped, because life without the possibility of parole …show more content…
When the death penalty was banned after being ruled unconstitutional in 1972, his sentence was changed to life with a possibility of parole. He was paroled in 1978 and months later he was arrested again and charged with the murder of a 61 year old store owner. Massie is a perfect example of why the death penalty should not be stopped. Richardson could argue Massie had a possibility of parole, which gave him an opportunity to be freed back into society. However, even if Massie had received a life without parole sentence, he could have ended up killing a fellow inmate, a guard, a visitor, or someone else. In addition, it is not unheard of for an inmate to escape from prison …show more content…
However, with necessary changes the death penalty can be a meaningful and just punishment. Richardson supports his decision of stopping the death penalty because he feels innocent lives are at stake if there is a mistake in the sentence of a person. However, according to Jeanne Woodford, the prosecuting attorney of Indiana, “there is no credible evidence to show that any innocent persons have been executed at least since the death penalty was reactivated in 1976”. Moreover, the article “A Message from the Prosecuting Attorney of Indiana” states that the most accurate judgment sentence in any system of justice ever created is death penalty. The death penalty judgment sentence has very little if any mistakes when it comes to sentencing the right person for a crime committed. Nevertheless, the death penalty is not perfect and is flawed in certain ways, such as the cost per prisoner, per year. The financial cost is staggering to take care of death row inmates. According to, the Report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (2008) “The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the maximum security prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate. With California's current death row population of 670, that accounts for $63.3 million annually." However, this can be fixed by not
English 1A
Instructor Denise Pica
November 8, 2010
Keeping the Death Penalty In the article “Stop the Death Penalty”, author Bill Richardson explains his position on the death penalty. Richardson starts the article by saying that he used to be a firm believer in the death penalty; however, six years ago he started to have a change of heart. Richardson now feels that the death penalty is irrevocable and should be stopped. He continued by saying that life without the possibility of parole is a better option. There are a number of people who would disagree with Richardson. Capital punishment can be the only true justice in certain cases. The death penalty should not be stopped, because life without the possibility of parole …show more content…
When the death penalty was banned after being ruled unconstitutional in 1972, his sentence was changed to life with a possibility of parole. He was paroled in 1978 and months later he was arrested again and charged with the murder of a 61 year old store owner. Massie is a perfect example of why the death penalty should not be stopped. Richardson could argue Massie had a possibility of parole, which gave him an opportunity to be freed back into society. However, even if Massie had received a life without parole sentence, he could have ended up killing a fellow inmate, a guard, a visitor, or someone else. In addition, it is not unheard of for an inmate to escape from prison …show more content…
However, with necessary changes the death penalty can be a meaningful and just punishment. Richardson supports his decision of stopping the death penalty because he feels innocent lives are at stake if there is a mistake in the sentence of a person. However, according to Jeanne Woodford, the prosecuting attorney of Indiana, “there is no credible evidence to show that any innocent persons have been executed at least since the death penalty was reactivated in 1976”. Moreover, the article “A Message from the Prosecuting Attorney of Indiana” states that the most accurate judgment sentence in any system of justice ever created is death penalty. The death penalty judgment sentence has very little if any mistakes when it comes to sentencing the right person for a crime committed. Nevertheless, the death penalty is not perfect and is flawed in certain ways, such as the cost per prisoner, per year. The financial cost is staggering to take care of death row inmates. According to, the Report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice (2008) “The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the maximum security prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate. With California's current death row population of 670, that accounts for $63.3 million annually." However, this can be fixed by not