Capitol Punishment
Capitol Punishment
What do Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen have in common with the United States? They are the only countries in the world that are still executing people who were under eighteen years old at the time they committed their crimes. In fact, the U.S. is a leader in the number of executions it has each year, along with China and The Republic of Congo. Usually, you would never be able to put the U.S. in the same categories as countries such as Nigeria or Saudi Arabia. The death penalty is unfair and very costly to the U.S. public.
Some people think that capitol punishment is the way to deal with serious crimes. It can help with the healing process of the victim's families. Some also believe that the death penalty deters people from committing horrendous crimes. The death penalty is also considered the ultimate punishment, which is why it is used when someone has taken another persons life. This type of thinking goes all the way back to ancient Greece when the law was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It's sad to say that some of our policies on punishments have not changed in over three thousand years.
The death penalty has killed many innocent people and continues to do so today. Since 1976, more than one hundred prisoners convicted of capitol crimes have been found innocent because of recent advancements in DNA testing. Sometimes people are forced into confessing crimes for which they did not commit, due to corrupt police or wrongful interrogation practices. This happens very frequently among juveniles and the mentally retarded. The U.S is one of the only countries to still execute the mentally retarded. People with schizophrenia and other mental disorders are still being executed in the U.S. The majority of people that have been convicted of capitol crimes have little or no education. Also, most of the people are from low income families and are very poor.
Almost all the people who are on death...
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