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Capital Punishment Is Wrong Capital Term Paper

Electrocution too, at times, fails to kill instantly and the awful stench of burning flesh that follows the process is indicative of the excruciating pain suffered during the killing. Another reason why capital punishment is wrong is because death is irreversable, human justice is fallible and criminal proceedings would always be prone to errors. There have been several cases of sentencing to death before evidence proving their innocence was uncovered. Since 1973 alone, 119 people in 25 USA states have been released from death row when evidence of their innocence came to light. ("Capital Punishment" Wikipedia) Others, not so lucky, have been executed before evidence clearing them was discovered. James Adams, a Black American, who was executed in Florida on May 10, 1984 for the 1973 murder of one Edgar Brown, is a pertinent case in point. Mr. Adams was most probably an innocent man who was put to death before he and his attorneys had a chance to prove his innocence. (Baird and Rosenbaum, 97-100)

Not only do many innocent persons get convicted and even executed, evidence also suggests that the death penalty is disproportionately applied to the poor and racial minorities in the United States. For example, between 1930 and 1990, 4,016 persons were executed in the United States out of whom, 2,129 (or 53%) were black, although Blacks constituted just 12% of the U.S. population during the period. (Bedau, 1992, Section on "unfairness") Apart from racial discrimination, the poor are at a much-enhanced risk of getting the death penalty since most of them cannot afford to hire a lawyer during their trial. It is no wonder...

No hard evidence exists about its supposed benefits such as deterrence, while instances of conviction of the innocent and the disproportionate application of capital punishment on the poor and racial minorities are well documented.
Works Cited

Baird, Robert M., and Stuart E. Rosenbaum, eds. Punishment and the Death Penalty: The Current Debate. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995.

Bedau, Hugo Adam. (1992). "The Case Against The Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. 1992. Retrieved on September 29, 2005 at http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/dp/dppapers/aclu.antidp

Capital Punishment." From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. On September 29, 2005 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment

Death Penalty, Q&A." Amnesty International USA. 2005. Retrieved on September 29, 2005 at http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/dp_qa.html

The term "capital" comes from the Latin word capitalis, meaning "head."

According to the Amnesty International, around 124 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice

Self-defense is, of course, an exception.

Or in the case of the United States, states that allow capital punishment

Qualified medical professionals are often barred from taking part in executions

Radelet, Bedau, and Putnam, authors of "In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases," have documented 23 such cases. (Baird and Rosenbaum, 141)

Quoted in Amnesty International website [available online] at http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/worldwide.html

Capital Punishment

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Baird, Robert M., and Stuart E. Rosenbaum, eds. Punishment and the Death Penalty: The Current Debate. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995.

Bedau, Hugo Adam. (1992). "The Case Against The Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. 1992. Retrieved on September 29, 2005 at http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/dp/dppapers/aclu.antidp

Capital Punishment." From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. On September 29, 2005 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment

Death Penalty, Q&A." Amnesty International USA. 2005. Retrieved on September 29, 2005 at http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/dp_qa.html
Quoted in Amnesty International website [available online] at http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/worldwide.html
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