I do not favor capital punishment. I do not believe capital punishment should be used in any situation. We live in a society that is not equal. If our system is not just and equal, then how could anyone sentence someone to death? If murder were the worst crime imaginable, then would our system not be equally guilty? I know that I would never be able to sleep with a clean conscious knowing I was responsible for the death of another, even if the person was responsible for another’s death. I believe that far too many people have too much faith in our government. The mere idea of the government regulating life is enough to cause nightmares. The fact is no system is perfect and none will ever be. This is why capital punishment should never be used as a sentence. If just one innocent person is put to death, then blood is on our hands.
When capital punishment is used age and mental status should be evaluated. The idea that someone who is 16 and someone who is 25 think and feel the same way is preposterous. When I think back to when I was 16, and I’m 24 now, I know how differently I thought. When you’re young you don’t evaluate things as well. You just don’t think things through; you don’t really understand the consequences. Those who are mentally ill have no business facing capital punishment. If someone is mentally sick, it is not his or her fault. It is not as though they choose to be ill. However, I do not believe their actions should come without any ramifications. Everyone must take some responsibility for his or her actions. The person should be evaluated and then it should be up to the doctors. If the person is well enough to be incarcerated then that is what should be done. If the person needs to be hospitalized then that is what should happen.
I’m not sure that I would say that capital punishment is a racist punishment. I know that more blacks receive the death penalty for killing whites than whites for killing blacks. My opinion is that it all has to do with poverty. The black community has a high poverty rate. The route cause can be traced back to slavery. It has always been harder for them to excel and prosper. High crime areas are almost always poverty stricken areas. People sometimes strike out in acts of desperation to survive. They have little to no money so when charges are brought against them they have no way to pay for an expensive attorney. Their only option is a court appointed lawyer. Often these lawyers are fresh out of law school and are put here to gain experience. The problem with this is that you’re playing with someone’s life. This goes not only for blacks but the vast majority of those on death row. Often their lives rest in the hands of the inexperienced. I see no way to justify this. Our system seems to be set up to be unjust, at least to the poor.
The fact that it is more expensive to put people on death row than it is to sentence them to life just makes my argument stronger. I do not want my tax dollars going to put people to death. I do not understand why people do not seem satisfied with a life sentence. To me spending the rest of your life locked up is a fitting punishment for taking a life. It is cost effective and the worry of putting the innocent to death is gone. I guess most people are out for vengeance rather than justice.
To use the Bible as justification for capital punishment is silly. You can use the Bible to justify any point imaginable. The fact is that the Bible contradicts itself constantly. Capital punishment is not a religious argument, and you should not use the Bible to justify it. The Bible can be interrupted a thousand different ways. What I read and understand can mean something completely different to someone else. Religion should play no part in the way we sentence people. We as a society should not have the right to decide who lives and who dies. Capital punishment is murder. Two wrongs do not make a right and they never will.

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