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The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

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The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment
“The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, Do we deserve to kill?” -Bryan Stevenson. To answer that question, the country does not deserve to kill. Even though the crimes death row inmates have committed murder, that should not give someone else the right to kill them. Supporters of capital punishment believe it deters violence but it only creates more violence. Capital Punishment should be abolished in the United states because it is sinful and immoral, cruel and unusual punishment, and unfair. Capital Punishment, or death penalty, is the execution of people who have been found guilty of offenses considered to be capital crimes (Capital …show more content…
In some cases there are wrongful convictions. The number one reason for wrongful conviction is poor legal representation. The Risk of Executing the Innocent Makes the Death Penalty Unfair states “Many states cap fees for court-appointed attorneys, which makes it tough for indigents to get competent lawyers.” Another reason for wrongful convictions is false confessions. Before Gary Gauger’s confession detectives insisted they had a “stack of evidence” against him, but they were lying. Detectives persuaded him to think he committed a crime during a blackout when he was drunk since he usually blacks out when he drinks heavily. They “jogged his memory” by hypothetically describing the murders to him and by showing him pictures of the murders. Gary Gauger gave a false confession to the police after 18 long hours of nonstop interrogation. Perjured testimony is also a factor of wrongful convictions. One third of perjured testimonies lead to wrongful convictions. In Gary Gauger’s case an inmate claimed he heard Gauger’s confession. Luckily for Gauger, he was able to be free from death row along with 74 other inmates. Race is one more reason for a wrongful conviction. Blacks who had committed crimes against whites received a proportionally greater share of death sentences than other convicted criminals (The Risk Of

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