Anti-Death Penalty?

Question

i have to give a persuasive speech about the death penalty. i have to be either for or against. i decided to be anti death penalty. I've all ready done some prelimenary research. i would just like to hear from some people who strongly oppose the death penalty because i dont necassarily oppose it, i just had to choose a side. Im somewhere in the middle in terms of opinon on the death penalty

Answer 1

You have already gotten some good answers. Here are a few verifiable and sourced facts about the death penalty system in the United States.

Re: Possibility of executing an innocent person
Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence, many having already served over 2 decades on death row. If we speed up the process we are bound to execute an innocent person. Once someone is executed the case is closed. If we execute an innocent person the real criminal is still out there and will have successfully avoided being charged.

Re: DNA
DNA is available in less than 10% of murder cases. It’s not a miracle cure for sentencing innocent people to death. It’s human nature to make mistakes.

Re: Appeals
Our appeals system is designed to make sure the trial was in accord with constitutional standards, not to second guess whether the defendant was actually innocent. It is very difficult to get evidence of innocence introduced before an appeals court.

Re: Deterrence
The death penalty isn’t a deterrent. Murder rates are actually higher in states with the death penalty than in states without it. Moreover, people who kill or commit other serious crimes do not think about the consequences or even that they will be caught (if they think at all.)

Re: cost
The death penalty costs far more than life in prison. The huge extra costs start to mount up even before the trial. There are more cost effective ways to prevent and control crime.

Re: Alternatives
48 states have life without parole on the books. It means what it says, is swift and sure and is rarely appealed. Being locked in a tiny cell, forever, is certainly no picnic. Life without parole incapacitates a killer (keeps him from re-offending) and costs considerably less than the death penalty.

Re: Who gets the death penalty
The death penalty isn’t reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but rather for defendants with the worst lawyers. When is the last time a wealthy person was sentenced to death, let alone executed??

Re: Victims families
The death penalty is very hard on victims’ families. They must relive their ordeal in the courts and the media. Life without parole is sure, swift and rarely appealed. Some victims families who support the death penalty in principal prefer life without parole because of how the death penalty affects families like theirs.

Opposing the death penalty doesn’t mean you condone brutal crimes or excuse people who commit them. According to a Gallup Poll, in 2006, 47% of all Americans prefer capital punishment while 48% prefer life without parole. Americans are learning the facts and making up their minds using common sense, rather than revenge or "eye for an eye" sloganeering.

Answer 2

Make sure you go into a debate with credible sources. That said, here are some leads for you.

1. It costs way more on average to execute someone than to pay for upkeep for life imprisionment.

2. Check stats for executions amongst the wrongly convicted and those mentally unfit to stand trial.

3. No potential criminal is deterred from murdering by the possibility of future capital punishment. This claim is ridiculous.

4. Then there is the whole morality issue at play. This pretty much works as well as you argue it. I personally feel that execution is an act of revenge rather than justice. You might also want to explore the number of cases in which executions have resulted in excruciating deaths.

Be prepared for the opponent's argument. It will be that the death penalty deters criminals and stops convicts from escaping and posing further menace. The pro-camp will throw some extreme scenarios at you, such as a murderer escaping prison or someone like Charles Manson. You basically counter these exceptional and very clear-cut cases by identifying them as such and reasoning that they should not dictate the overall policy due to their rarity.

Answer 3

I don't know if I strongly oppose the death penalty. There are some people that deserve it. However I do not approve of it generally. Most of the reasons that I disapprove is there are to many people convicted wrongly in our court system, even one mistake would be tragic as far as I am concerned. I also think that it serves no useful purpose as it is revenge based, barbaric, and it does not deter crime. Most death penalty cases take 20 years to carry out with appeals and such. It would be cheaper to feed them and guard them then to kill them. I don't feel I am weak on crime because I do feel that if a person commits a capital crime they should give up their freedom for life. No TVs, Given nothing but their choice of bible and a note book and a pencil. .

Answer 4

The death penalty has been shown to NOT be an effective deterrent from crime, just like California's 3 Strikes you are Out is also ineffective against crime.

Barbaric yes, makes sense no.

Answer 5

How about something like this?

In order to advance, as a society, we must act for reason, not vengeance. We must develop methods of dealing with problems that do not perpetuate the notion that violence is an acceptable solution, but rather discourage vengeance and hatred. Such barbaric means of punishment push us into an endless downward spiral, and do nothing to deter the problems these means of punishment were intended to solve. We should focus on the solving the underlying social and psychological problems. Criminal behavior is like an illness. It has treatable causes. And like an illness, it will continue to plague our society, and never improve, so long as we fail to address said causes. Attack the source, rather than the symptoms.

Answer 6

I came around to anti death bc

1. life in prison - is better because it is easier imo to get ready for your final day and your god, than it is to rot in jail for life without parole.
2. death row - a person on death row, if it's drawn out year after year after year, can make the inmate a little nuts, and that is cruel imo.
3. mistakes - one mistake is one too many. 146 commuted sentences( i forget where) due to DNA evidence that exonerated them. If they are found innocent by new trial or from evidence, they are still alive to be set free in the first place! Note 86% of wrongly accused are jailed because of the "line-up" system that police use to identify criminals. The new way is to show suspects to a witness one photo at a time. This makes it easier for the witness to concentrate on each one separately and conceivably more accurately.
4. Ben Hur - ten Commandments "Thou shalt not kill"

Answer 7

I used to be for death penalty but as I get older, I feel that the death penalty should be scraped. It's not right to send someone for a death row.

Answer 8

I oppose the death penalty for criminals because I think those that are doing crime that has a death sentance should be made to suffer the rest of there life in prison/solitary confinement.. and child molesters should be one of those crimes along with rape, murderers and such. those in there for theft or drugs just deserve the sentance that they get. and have a chance to change their ways. child molesters never change, they will always be what they are. sick and wrong

Answer 9

hmm thats a toughie, -our laws and the Bible says thou shalt not kill, so who are we, why are we any better than the one convicted? Because its "in the name of the law" its okay to say this persons life should end? How many were convicted and years later found to be innocent? (The movie Hurricane starring Denzel Washington, is a true story about a boxer wrongly convicted.) Once they are executed there is no going back and saying oops!

Answer 10

Money - it is cheaper to house an inmate for life than execute, due to court costs.

Mistakes - with police officers convicted of framing innocent people and DNA setting many convicted inmates free it is better to be safe than have innocent blood on your hands.

Religious - man was created in God's image, so killing another human is disrespectful to the great creator of all.