Why does the death penalty exist? Do we rape rapist? Do we beat batterers? Then why do we kill killers? Two wrongs do not make a right. Just because someone takes the life of another human being does not mean that it is alright to take theirs. The death penalty should be abolished because it is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. The death penalty is outdated, immoral and extremely expensive.

The Death penalty is a thing of the past and should no longer be in effect in the United States. Capital punishment was first seen in the United States back in the early sixteen hundreds. It was influenced by Britain, but back then you could be sentenced to death for anything from stealing to trading with the Indians. Most people were either hung or executed by a firing squad. They didn’t even take place in correctional facilities until the mid-eighteen hundreds. In the early nineteenth century some states started to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason. It was also around the same time that cyanide gas was introduced and executions in the United States reached an all time high (167 per year). Not long after the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human rights – “the right to life”. Throughout the fifties and sixties many human rights treaties were signed, abolishing capital punishment in numerous countries. Currently one hundred and seventeen countries have abolished it. I think that as a world power the United States should lead by example and abolish the death penalty. “Tom Maness recently noted that the time-consuming and costly nature of capital punishment may lead to its demise.” I think this is the beginning of the end of the death penalty,\" said Maness after a Criminal District Court Judge recommended that the Court of Criminal Appeals commute the death sentence of Walter Bell to life in prison” (www.deathpenaltyinfo.com). There are better ways for dealing with murders other than sinking down to their level.
Capital punishment is outdated and most Americans do not believe in it anymore. The death sentence is the greatest denial of civil liberties. A recent poll by The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed that sixty two percent of Americans prefer to give a sentence of life without parole over the death sentence. Capital punishment is a disservice and does not bring closure to the family members of a victim. Organizations such as the “Murder Victims Families for Human Rights” and the “Journey of Hope” oppose the death penalty and believe that it goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There are currently over thirty five hundred inmates on death row in the United States. “Many victims who oppose the death penalty are denied their legal rights as crime victims as defined by the laws of their states. They are often not allowed to give victim impact statements at trial, not notified of hearings in a timely manner, denied victim services because they are \"pro-defendant,\" and even excluded from the courtroom during trials by the prosecution” (www.Murdervictimfamilies.com). Death Penalty cases are much more expensive than other criminal cases and cost more than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. In most cases, the cost to prosecute and see a death penalty case all the way through the first stages of an appeal is somewhere around two million dollars. Not including the cost of security for the inmate and the actual execution. This is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at a maximum security prison for forty years. Incarceration is about nine hundred thousand dollars, less than half the cost of an execution. There is also a big difference between the trial for life in prison and a trial for the capital punishment. A capital punishment trial costs about sixteen times more ($508,000) and usually takes around thirty four days, versus the nine day trial and thirty two thousand dollar cost. California alone would save around ninety million dollars per year if they abolished the death penalty. “Since 1973, 95 people have been released from death row in the United States with evidence of their innocence. The average length of time from conviction to release is over 7.6 years, and 34 of the innocent were behind bars for 10+ years before they were exonerated” (www.dpio.org). Since the use of forensic evidence came into use it has been present in only ten percent of all capital punishment cases. It makes you wonder how a jury could give such a harsh punishment without any form of forensic evidence and how much money has been wasted because these people were wrongfully accused.
The death penalty is an extremely barbaric and outdated process that should no longer be in effect in the United States. Times have changed and it time for the death penalty to be abolished. Capital punishment is seen as cruel and inhumane. Family members of the victims who had their lives taken by the individuals on death row do not even believe in the death sentence. So why should you? Is spending millions of taxpayer’s dollars to end someone’s life really necessary? There is no justice in killing another human being.
The death penalty should be abolished because it is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment. In today’s world we should be looking for some way to help the people that committed these acts rather than just end their life. If you have lost a loved one either through a homicide or an execution, or you just oppose the death penalty you can become a member of the Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation. You can reach them by visiting their website at (www.murdervitimsfamiles.com). Abolishing the Death penalty everywhere is one bigger step in the human rights movement.

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