Conclusion

After weeks of research my opinion of capital punishment is stronger than they have ever been as I now have the knowledge to support my stance. Although many articles that I have read were disturbing, I believe it has made me more of an activist. Capital punishment has proven to have too many cons to still be a legal action. Through my research I have found who is effected by executions, statistics of innocent men and woman that have been executed and reasons to why capital punishment should be abolished from the judicial system. 


A question of mine still remains, 'How can you teach people killing is wrong by killing people?' Capital punishment is a very contradicting process of inflicting fear into other citizens, but it has proven to be  ineffective. Some may raise the question of 'what if it was a loved one of yours?' Although when the shoe is on the other foot, it is expected that people would change their answer. After reading and understanding the issues with capital punishment; my position stays the same. A life should not be taken in retribution of another because as history shows 82% of inmates are innocent. Executions do not only effect the families of both parties but also the executioners who ultimately have to live the fact that they have taken an innocent life. 

All in all, capital punishment should to abrogated from judicial systems world wide because it has a raised chance of taking an innocent life. Capital punishment carries one to many loop holes to allow juries and courts to vote on such an act. It has been shown that there are many cases that have been re-evaluated by college students who then uncovered evidence that has proven the innocence of death row inmates. There is no logical reason why the death penalty should still be used, and reasons, in abundance, about why it should never be used again.  

(http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2010/05/cartoons-on-capital-punishment.html)

Could a DNA save his life?

As reading through this article in The Guardian called ' Texas death row: court denies prisoner DNA testing days before execution' is an article that ultimately would leave many citizens enraged for many reasons.


Hank Skinner, 49, is due to be executed on November 9th in the state of Texas for a crime that he hasn't been given a fair trail in. Skinner was convicted of this murder and has been on death row since 1995 for the murder of his girlfriend and her two sons. 'Evidence that was found on the scene include blood-stained knife, hair from her hands and swabs that may prove sexual assault' (Pilkington. 2011). Skinner hasn't been subjected to any DNA testing, which he and his lawyer have been pleading for for years, to prove his innocence. Even 6 days before he is to be executed, the court has denied him a DNA test and are refusing to postpone his execution until DNA has been issued. "Skinner believes such testing might refocus blame for the murders away from him and onto a dead uncle of the victim." (Pilkington. 2011)


To take someones life for a crime that cannot be proven is on the extreme of why the death penalty should be removed from the judicial system. Many may argue to keep capital punishment the way it is for it punishes citizens who have commit capital crimes. This becomes a difficult situation, for citizen who support capital punishment, when a fair trail has not been issued. As stated in previous posts many inmate who are on death row are proven to be innocent by someone confessing to the crime. Unfortunately for Skinner, the man he believes committed the crime is already dead and is hoping that the courts will grant him this while not taken another innocent life. 

(http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2010/05/cartoons-on-capital-punishment.html)


Troy Davis Video: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/sep/22/troy-davis-execution-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 

" IN MY NIGHTMARES I SEE THEIR FACES "

Throughout my research, in my nightmares I see their faces by Allen Ault, is the most interesting article I have read to date. This article gives an insight on the perspective of the commissioner of Georgia Diagnostics, from 1971 to 1995, and the toll it takes on the men and women who are paid to participate in executions. Allen Ault tells the story of Thomas Dean Stevens and Christopher Burger 'monstrous' murder and their life changing experience.


After more that 10 years in prison Stevens and Burger had matured and become well rounded men under the circumstances; Ault refers to it as, "All these years later, after a little frontal-lobe development, they were entirely different people." (Ault, Allen. 2011) Although they were guilty, by confession, Ault believed that after all these years the death penalty was still an injustice. This article then goes to show that men and women should pay for the crimes with time and not with their life, as retribution. Ault believe that if he could preform a bona fide act that it would make his job worth while. Unfortunately even after saving many lives, the guilt of Stevens and Burger still remained as he watched an increased number of innocent inmates executed for crimes they did not commit. Ault was motivated to be apart of inmate lives in prison, but as a professor at the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University; His focus is to improve the justice system without having to be apart of its corrupt environment. In this article, it give an elaborate description into the feelings that executioners endure after perform such acts. These acts effect executioners physiologically, which impacts them to abuse alcohol and drugs as their relief.  


All in all, my conclusion remains that the death penalty should be eliminated from the justice system throughout the world. Executions effect more than just the inmates and persons whom are directly involved  in their lives, but also cause a long term psychological effect on executioners. Positive reinforcement is shown to be a better way to discipline humans. 


(Ault, Allen. 2011 http://web.ebscohost.com.rap.ocls.ca/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=110&sid=fc0fd3bc-f1b7-4652-9e45-56cc128f2389%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=66004873)

(http://web.ebscohost.com.rap.ocls.ca/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=110&sid=fc0fd3bc-f1b7-4652-9e45-56cc128f2389%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=66004873)

The governments' sorry to the dead innocent

I came across an article on ACLU referred to as A question of Innocence while trying to find proof that the death penalty has taken innocent persons' lives. It is said that in Arizona there is an astonishing '113 inmates that have been found innocent and released from death row'(http://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/question-innocence). This information doesn't cease to amaze me considering the death penalty has continued to be apart of the American judicial system. As studies are ongoing on the topic of innocent inmates encountering the death penalty; A specific study by a Columbia University professor has overwhelmed me with disbelief from the government.


James Liebman, a Columbia University professor, conducted a study revealing 'an astonishing 82 percent of death row inmate did not deserve the death penalty'. (http://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/question-innocence) It has become evident that the American hasn't made a perfunctory attempt is being made to relieve a habituated way of thinking. Studies have also shown that 'inmates that have been found innocent because someone has came forward to admit to the crime ' This article also provides case studies of inmates that have been proven to be innocent after extensive years on death row. In A question of Innocence it has been shown that 'In several cases, college or law school students investigated cases and unearthed essential evidence.'(http://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/question-innocence), which is even more astonishing to know that individuals who has not been in practice for elongated years can uncover such things and save innocent lives. 


This just goes to show that the American judicial system requires long amount of review on their approach to the death penalty. As of this article my opinion stays the same; The death penalty is an ineffective way to punish criminals and inflict fear upon civilians. Capital punishment shouldn't be enforced in any judicial system as it has been proven to be a faulty way to in force laws. 

The death of the death penalty?

Capital punishment is one of the most controversial topic in our society as it is a infringement on the laws that the justice system is trying to enforced throughout our nation. After reading an article in The Nation titled Questioning Capital Punishment it has giving me an insight of the arising questions in Maryland and California. This article shows that capital punishment is a faulty consequence, based on their promises and the infringement on human rights. It is said that ' the three-drug cocktail is suppose to sedate inmates and kill them quickly and painlessly '(Shapiro, 2006) but it has become an issue after the incident of Angel Nieves in Florida. This inmate was to be lethally injected, with these promises, and thereby sedated while the procedure continue but instead was conscious and "... was left conscious, grimacing in pain and struggling for breath."(Shapiro, 2006) ; it then continues to say that, "It took half an hour and a second round of injections before the spectacle ended." (Shapiro, 2006)


This then brings the question to mind of ' how many inmate had been conscious during the lethal injection procedure and went through agonizing pain? ' (Shapiro, 2006), but also brings the fact that many innocent men and women have been executed and therefore suffered such pain for faulty laws and procedures. Another question that has risen after reading this article is ' Are executioners about laws against killing another human being and are they to blame if an inmate is conscious during this procedure? ' This article has helped me to come to the conclusion that the death penalty should be illegal as other procedures similar to this, such as euthanasia, are. It also shows that there is an double standard to what the government perceives as 'right' by law. 



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