Abdullahi Iftin

English 2010
Camille Pack
4/20/15
Position Argument

The death penalty has always been one of the most hotly debated
issues in the United States. As the U.S grows older and wiser, there are some
evidence now that clearly points to the fact that the death penalty is not a
good solution. I agree that the death penalty is not the best choice and it
doesnt really serve justice. I simply do not believe that we as human beings
have the right to "play God" and take a human life. Would you choose to be
the person that pulls the switch that snuffs out a human life? As a Muslim
my religion opposes the death penalty and there are some other reasons
why I am against the death penalty.

Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in

1976, 138 innocent men and women have been released from death row,
including some who came within minutes of execution. In Missouri, Texas
and Virginia investigations have been opened to determine if those states
executed innocent men. To execute an innocent person is morally
reprehensible, this is a risk we cannot take. The danger that innocent
people will be executed because of errors in the criminal justice system is

getting worse. The researches that I did through the semester have led me
to come down strongly on the side of opposing capital punishment. We have
the option of sentencing convicted murderers to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. In the state of Oregon there are currently over 121
people who have received this sentence.
There is no question that killing another person is the most heinous
crime that one can commit and I agree with the fact that he or she should be
held accountable for the wrongful act of killing someone. The criminal did
murder an innocent victim, and therefore should be killed. This is known as
the "eye-for-an-eye theory. If we used this system all the time, there would
be no need for laws.
I think it is time to face the fact that our judicial system is prejudiced.
For instance, in southern states, 8 percent of the black criminals who murder
get the death penalty. Only 1 percent of white murderers get capital
punishment. Black people are targets in the courts, they are seven times
more likely to get the death penalty for murdering a white person as they are
if they murdered a black person. This strikes me as blatant prejudice.
Second, all the evidence suggests that the death penalty is no deterrent to
crime. Indeed, in those states that do have capital punishment, the average
murder rate per 100,000 people is 8 percent, while in states that have
abolished the death penalty, the murder rate is just 4.4 percent. In other
words, states that do not have capital punishment actually have lower
murder rates than states that do.

There may be an argument that the death penalty deters crime but
scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions
deter people from committing crime. In other words, states that do not have
capital punishment actually have lower murder rates than states that do.
Also, we pay many millions for the death penalty system. It is estimated that
total prosecution and defense costs to the state and counties equal $9
million per year. The state can save up to $2.3 million annually if the
death penalty was eliminated.
Families of murder victims undergo severe trauma and loss which no
one should face. However, executions do not help these people heal nor
do they end their pain; the extended process prior to executions prolongs
the agony of the family. Families of murder victims would benefit far more
if the funds now being used for the costly process of executions were
diverted to counseling and other assistance to help the families. We can
use the cost of death penalty cases money to help and support the
families of the victims.
The risk that innocent people will be caught in the web of the death
penalty is rising. The increased rate of discovery of innocent people on death
row is a clear sign that, even with the best of intentions, the criminal justice
system makes critical errors, which cannot be remedied once an execution
occurs. Courts are allowing executions to go forward even in the presence of
serious doubts about the defendant's guilt. By substituting a sentence of life

without parole, we meet society's needs of punishment and protection

without running the risk of an erroneous and irrevocable punishment.