Ethical Arguments Against The Death Penalty

Forms of the death penalty predate historical documentation, but it is surrounded by flaws which turn it into a cruel and unusual punishment. Because of these flaws, an argument can be made against the death penalty regardless of the moral argument surrounding it. Until issues such as botched executions, possibility of innocence, and flaws surrounding the trial and choice of sentence are remedied. One of the biggest issues with capital punishment is the possibility that the person being executed is innocent. “Since 1973, more than 150 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence.” (DPIC) if the evidence to prove any of those more than 150 people innocent had not surfaced in time an innocent life would have been lost. This shows that there have most likely been instances where an innocent person has faced the death penalty. “There is no way to tell how many of the more than 1,000 people executed since 1976 may also have been innocent. Courts do not generally entertain claims of innocence when the defendant is dead.” (DPIC) because of this, there are
There are numerous examples of multiple attempts at execution, and the person being executed showing signs of extreme physical pain for long periods of time before being pronounced dead. One example of this was a lethal injection administered on January 16, 2014 to Dennis McGuire. “McGuire gasped for air for some 25 minutes while the drugs used in the execution, hydromorphone and midazolam, slowly took effect. Witnesses reported that after the drugs were injected, McGuire was struggling, with his stomach heaving and fist clenched, making “horrible” snorting and choking sounds.” (Radelet, M) instances such as this where there is some defect with the chemicals happens much more often than it should, people executed being subjected to extreme amounts of pain for long periods of time before being pronounced