The death penalty is one of the most controversial topics in America.

Some
people see it as unorthodox, cruel, unconstitutional, and just flat out wrong. Another con
people argue is that it teaches the condemned nothing, they learn nothing from their bad
choices they just die. People tend to also argue that it doesnt dissuade the criminals from
committing the crimes. Ive also heard people call it hypocritical, they claim that its funny our
nation frowns upon murder but yet we are doing the same thing. Then we have those who see
the death penalty as a positive aspect. The death penalty provides closure for the victims, its
the ultimate warning and it discourages criminals from killing in some cases. Its also been said
that the death penalty rids the worlds of the worst criminals; people can escape unless they are
not alive to try such an act.
Through out the recent years the usages of the death penalty has decreased. In recent
data collected by the Death Penalty Information Center it shows that in 1999, 98 people were
killed by capital punishment. But in 2013 the numbers dropped to only 39 people executed. In
1994 and 1996 there were 315 people that were sentenced to death but in 2013 around 80
people were sentenced to death. (1). Many different factors play into the decline of the death
penalty usages. One key factor is the critical shortage of drugs that are made for lethal
injection. Which raises concern to the public over the judicial mistakes and just how expensive
it really is. Another factor that comes into play is that more than 4 percent of inmates that are
sentenced to death row are more than likely innocent (2). In the criminal justice system there
have been known cases where they wrongfully accused someone of crime. in a study
conducted by Samuel Gross revealed that about 13 percent of a group of inmates were

executed but may have been guilty. But they have good faith in that 4 percent of them were
innocent, so thats about 50 innocent people who were killed give or take.
The Death penalty has said to be unconstitutional due to the fact that it can be argued
that it violates the 5th, 8th, and 14th amendments. The 5th amendment states that no person
shall be subject to violation of the due process or in jeopardy of life or limb. Jed S. Rakoff is the
District judge in the southern district of New York who ruled in July of 2002 that the death
penalty indeed violated the 5th. He basically said that too many innocent people are subjected
to capital punishment. He also said that when they receive the death penalty they are also cut
off from the opportunity for exoneration, which denies due process. William J. Brennan, the
justice of the US Supreme court stated in July of 1976 that the death penalty violated the 8 th
amendment. The 8th amendment states that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. William said that death is not only
an unusually punishment, but its painful as well.
It serves no penal purpose; it treats humans of the human race non-human. He said that
it took away human dignity, which interfered with the clause that even the vilest criminal was
entitled to dignity. The death penalty also violates the 14th amendment according to Ivan
Eland, MBA, PHD. Who is a senior fellow and the director of the Center on Peace and Liberty.
Ivan believes that juries mete out the death penalty unfairly; he believes that capital
punishment includes discrimination on the basis of gender, social class, and race. Discrimination
on that basis violated the 14th amendment; all persons will have equal protection under the law
(3).

People call the death penalty a cruel and unusual punishment. Another reason
for the declining numbers could result from the issues that have come up with lethal injection.
For some reason or another they are running out of the materials that are used for lethal
injection. The substance used to kill an inmate is done in a series of three chemicals, sodium
thiopental (pentobarbital), pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. Sodium thiopental
is used first and it puts the inmate to sleep, then they inject him with pancuronium which
basically paralyzes the muscle system and stops breathing. Then finally they are injected with
potassium chloride which stops the heart. After each one is administered consciousness is
checked to make sure the inmate isnt feeling any pain. But shortly after, the U.S manufacture
of sodium thiopental ran low on the raw materials needed to produce the barbiturates. So they
found the next best thing in London (4).
Two men form Georgia and one from Arizona were executed in 2011 using thiopental in
the states that was purchased from London. All three inmates when being executed were
reported to having their eyes open long after the thiopental was given to them. Which indicates
that it didnt sedate them like it was intended too. The inmates basically felt everything and
where in excruciating pain, but were not able to let anyone know. The last two drugs paralyzed
them, stopped their breathing, and induced cardiac arrest. Amongst all that, proper protocol
was not followed during the execution, they did not check for consciousness. This really raises
the question to some people if the rules are reliably enforced at all (4).
Another issue that may lower the numbers of executions done is the moral
aspect of it. A lady by the name of Elizabeth Weil wrote an article on the origins of the current

formula we use in lethal injection. Elizabeth talked about how this idea of lethal injection came
about due to the fact that they wanted to save money on the electric chair and to help coat the
grotesqueness of killing a veneer of medical respectability. Dr. Jay Chapman who was the chief
medical examiner in Oklahoma came up with the three drug combo in 1977. Dr. Chapman liked
to describe himself as someone who was an expert in matters after death, but not getting them
to that point. He also admitted that he never even researched how to kill a man.
We use a version of his cocktail today in 37 states. Elizabeth went on to talk
about how this procedure is meant to be painless but in some cases inmates yelled
words out during it, some had a painfully slow death, and some received chemical burns
from the injection before they died. On May 2006 in Ohio a man named Joseph Clark
raised his head and literally stated its not working. In December of the same year a
Florida man named Angel Diaz grimaced for 26 minutes. It took 34 minutes for him to
die after the injection was administered. Her main point was that it was morally wrong.
The US considered it to be insufficiently humane for the use of it on animals. She also
seemed to have a problem with how we came up with this method. She talked about
how we used a method from a man who had no credentials in the area and that it didnt
always work, so why should we be using it at all. (5)
In my personal opinion these are some very strong factors that play into
why the death penalty is decreasing. But I am pro death penalty/ lethal injection. I
know it is frowned upon morally and statistically speaking it has shown that more
people disagree with it. Ive done my research and I know that its more expensive to put

a person to death than it is to sentence them jail. But our jail systems are over flowing
and people are continuing to commit crime on a daily basis. In prison they get a free
roof over their head, with free clothing, free food, and free water to shower in. But its
only free for them, we as taxpayers end up paying for all that. In a study dont in 2012
160,000 were sentenced to life in prison, and 49,000 of them were serving life without
possibility of parole. Thats a lot of people who are not ever going to be able to
contribute to society. A lot of people whom will continue to be sitting on their rear-ends
while we work just to make ends meet. Not everyone will share my opinion/ views on
this topic, but if we want to keep the streets a little safer we should really consider
increases the usage of the death penalty.

References
1) Stastic brain. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/ death-penaltystatistics/

2) Huff post (Ed.). (2014, April 28). Shocking nymber of innocent people sentenced.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/28/ innocent-deathpenalty-study_n_5228854.html
3) Is the death penalty unconstitutional? (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2013, from
http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=1715
4) Working for alternatives to the death penalty. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=52
5) Weil, E. (Ed.). (n.d.). Lethal injection and morals. Retrieved from
http://prospect.org/article/lethal-injection-and-moral-seriousness