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Libni Coronado
Kathleen Evans
ENGL 1302
May 11, 2016
An End to Death Penalty
The Death Penalty should be banned in all states of the U.S. Taking away someones life
is wrong, no matter what crime that person has committed. Not only is it morally wrong, but
more often than not, they sentence innocent people to death. If that wasnt bad enough, a
criminals race also plays a big role on whether they get the death penalty or not. My position on
the Death Penalty is that it should be banned in all states of the United States since it is morally
wrong and cruel. Everyone should have the right to live, no matter what crime they had
committed.
The Death Penalty in the United States is a maximum sentence for a crime committed.
The five different methods of execution are Lethal Injection, Electrocution, Lethal Gas, Firing
Squad, and hanging. The most common type of method for execution used is Lethal Injection.
If the death penalty continues to be permitted, then how many innocent people have been
wrongfully killed because of it? More than 150 wrongfully convicted people have been freed
since 1973. (The Editorial Board, 2016)

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The amount of innocent people that were given the Capital Punishment is shocking. This mainly
happens because the accused is somehow tied to the crime but there is no proof that they actually
did or did not do it. There are most likely many innocent people that have been killed because of
the lack of evidence that were presented during court.
Unfortunately, race also plays a big role on whether the person gets the Death Penalty or
not. Harris County prosecutors were more than three times as likely to seek the death penalty
against a black defendant as against a white one. Over the past dozen years, every new death
sentence in the county has been imposed on a man of color. (The Editorial Board, 2016) It is
hard not to notice that this is more than likely true. A majority of people who were given the
Death Penalty have been non-white people. The current death row population is 41.7 percent
black, 43.1 percent white and 12.6 percent Latino. (Death Penalty Information Center) Race
will more than likely always seem to be an issue, especially with dealing with someone that has
committed a crime.
Some people might actually be in favor of the Capital Punishment. They might think that
they got what they deserve, or an eye for an eye. In a way, it is understandable on why they
would think this way. It would also help the victims families and loved ones to feel a type of
closure. If someone commits a horrendous crime, then they should pay for it with whatever

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seems fit; even if it means death. However, even though they committed a terrible crime does not
mean that they should have their right to live taken away from them.
There is no acceptable reason to kill someone. Taking someones life away is wrong. So it
does not make sense why the court would kill someone just because the accused killed a person
or did something just as bad. A criminal killing a person and then getting killed because they
killed someone just creates an endless unnecessary cycle of killing. It is strange that a nation
would denounce the practice of murder by committing the very same act. (FlameHorse on
listverse) In short terms, its hypocritical. Why kill a person when we all have the same right to
live no matter what that person has done. I believe that the maximum penalty should be life in

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prison without parole. That is more humane than killing another person.

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The death penalty is legal in 31 states and illegal in 19 states. (deathpenalty) The
majority of the states in the United States still have the Death Penalty legal. There are, however,
a states that have the Death Penalty banned. States in the United States that have banned the
Death Penalty are Alaska, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin. States in the U.S that
have the Death Penalty legalized are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming.

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Having the Death Penalty banned in all states would result in a much more humane and
morally correct way to convict someone who would have originally gotten the Capital
Punishment. It is hypocritical of the nation to say that the murder is wrong since they are also
killing people that may have committed a crime. It would also eliminate the numbers of wrongful
executions because of inaccurate evidence or race. Everyone should have the right to live, so
why take away something that has been rightfully theirs since the day they were born.

Works Cited
"31 States With The Death Penalty And 19 States With Death Penalty Bans - Death
Penalty - Procon.Org". Deathpenalty.procon.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.
"5 Arguments For And Against The Death Penalty - Listverse". Listverse. N.p., 2013.
Web. 11 May 2016.
Board, The. "Race And The Death Penalty In Texas". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 4
Apr. 2016.
Board, The. "America And Its Fellow Executioners". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 4
Apr. 2016.
Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN. "How To Kill: America's Death Penalty Dilemma". CNN.
N.p., 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.
"Everything You Need To Know About Executions In The United States". Washington
Post. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.
"Innocence And The Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center".
Deathpenaltyinfo.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.