NS-Killed+by+the+Government

Home ** Killed by the Government ** ** Opinion Piece by Neil Schneeberg Grade: 10 **

According to information from Amnesty International, since 1973 over 130 people have been released from death row due to wrongful conviction in this country. Who knows how many people in this country were executed before there was a chance to look into their case more carefully? During a Republican Party primary debate, the mere mention that Gov. Rick Perry executed 234 people set the crowd in thunderous applause. The "Justice System" I believe is wrongfully named; it should be called the "Revenge System." In many cases a sentence is imposed less based on the defendants risk to society, but how much the judge and jury took offense to his/her act. The system is prone to error: false testimonies, corruption, and police coercement. We cannot put people's lives in the hands of a system that can be so easily manipulated. The system is biased. Prosecutors seek the death penalty far more often when the victim is white and wealthy. Since 1976, 77% of homicide victims whose cases resulted in the death penalty were white despite African-Americans making up half of all homicide victim cases. The single most reliable predictor of whether or not someone will be sentenced to death is race. The American Bar Association has found that one third of African American death row inmates in Philadelphia would have gotten life imprisonment if they were white. The death penalty does not deter crime. Data shows that all 14 states without capital punishment have homicide rates at or below the national level. The death penalty is unlikely to enter the minds of killers as they are committing their acts. Most happen in the heat of the moment; during a robbery or in a fit of rage. Many murderers are also under the influence of alcohol and other drugs while they commit their crimes; they do not think sanely about the consequences of their actions. The death penalty ought to be abolished.