death penalty..please give me reasons why to be against it.... as detailed as possible?

Question

i need it for a speech class .. it has to be a persassive speech on a controvirsial topic. i choose a neagative view on the death penatly

Answer 1

I would suggest you check out the wikipedia article on the death penalty at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_penalty for at least a start.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Some of these answerers are terrific. Here are some things they left out.

Deterrence: States with the death penalty have higher murder rates than states that don’t have it. FBI statistics. Most murderers don’t think they will be caught, if they think at all.

Cost: The cost of a system with capital punishment is much higher than one without it.

Speeding up the process will lead to executions of innocent people. Many of the over 120 people released from death row with evidence of their innocence served more than a decade.

Life without parole is on the books in more and more states. It means what it says.

Note to Mike O and others about families of murder victims. Death sentences can be very hard on murder victims’ families. With each legal proceeding, they are forced to relive their painful ordeal in court and in the media. Many families of murder victims who the death penalty in theory prefer life without parole because of what the death penalty does to families like theirs.

Common sense is far better than a revenge driven system.

Answer 3

There are two most important arguments.
1. The mistakes. Get as much data and stories as you can on that one. Try Wikipedia or Amnesty International. For a strong effect, get the racial and financial status of people so sentenced in the US. Almost none are able to pay for their own defense.
2. Superior morals form identity. It's very important for a citizen to feel that the law they are subject to is not only just but also wise, i.e. of a superior moral standard. So law should never taste of revenge but rehabilitation and limiting damage to the citizen. Simply put, everybody knows that respecting life is strong in good people and weak in bad people. Make this mental experiment: What if the judge had to kill the death sentenced person himself with his hands or with a knife? Would he still sentence him that way? - This argument you have to think about to present powerfully.
Try to give it everything. This is very important.

Answer 4

I am against the death penalty for the simple reason that it's eternal peace. I think the criminal should rot in prison. No TV, no working out, no mingling with the rest of the prisoners. And don't say that you are tired of paying for the persons imprisonment. It cost more to execute than it does to put them away for life. And it wouldn't do a thing to your taxes either way. Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Phoenix Az. has the right idea using retired army tents for the prisoners.

Answer 5

I have a couple for being opposed to it.
1. Possiblility of executing an innocent person
2. I don't think that putting someone to death for any reason is the sign of an advanced, civilized society. I apply this criterion to abortion as well. Killing your problems does not better society and such actions make your society less admirable.
3. It is neither rehabilitative nor punishing. It's an easy out for the convict.

Answer 6

well, my most justified arguement against it is best said as Ghandi once said, "An eye for an eye leaves teh world blind." basically that means that if you punish a murderer by murdering him, you yourself become a murderer, but because its done under cover of "justice" you go scott free. as well as being hypocritcal, its a huge waste of money. the average death sentance costs the state its issued in $1 million, as appossed to $350,000-500,000 for a life sentance. a life sentance would also give the person convicted lots of time to think about things. now most killers are either crimally insane or didnt have a choice in the matter. the latter will usually come to peace with it and gladly serve out the sentance. while the hardend killers will usually try to parole their way out of prison, if they can.

Answer 7

It's possible to kill innocent ppl, also some would consider it in humane to kill other people. Also the death penalty costs a lot of money in reviews in the court as opposed to the average case.

Answer 8

Even if you disregard the story of the Ten Commandments, one of which is "Thou Shalt Not Kill", it always seemed illogical to me to be able to justify Capital Punishment simply by reason of the way most states penal codes define Murder. For instance, in Connecicut law, murder is defined simply as an intentional killing. My question is, isn't the execution of a murderer the intentional killing of that person? It seems to me that the enacted law says quite clearly that murder as defined in that statute is exactly what the "state" does when it executes someone, only under a legal justification of that act.

Answer 9

I can only answer by telling how I feel about the death penalty. And that is that one wrongfully executed person is one too many. On the other hand, Charlie Manson and Sirhan Sirhan are still taking up space and resources.

Answer 10

My reason of being against it is...many times an innocent person has been convicted...you read about it every week....just think if this person had been executed before he was found innocent.....I also really don't think man has the right to use eye for an eye justice