Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right (death Penalty)

There are many things wrong with today's growing society; however, I believe the death penalty is the worst. I am strongly against the death penalty because it sets a bad example for our society, prisoners could be wrongly convicted, and it is cruel and unusual punishment.

Our youth is learning from our actions. If a Timmy gets punched during recess, does the teacher advocate Timmy to punch the other child back? No, this is the type of example we are setting for our youth. As they grow up, they are faced with difficult situations in which they must use their best judgment. Do you expect them to make the right decision if their "role models" are being hypocritical?

Secondly, how would you feel if an innocent man who had done nothing wrong died? Throughout the history of the death penalty, there were numerous cases in which it is determined that the person executed did not commit the crime. New evidence maybe found years after the individual has been put to death. There is no way to say sorry and get that person's life back. Also, the person accused maybe too poor to hire an adequate lawyer. The court appointed attorneys are often too over-worked and inexperienced to be of adequate assistance to the accused. Therefore, the person is convicted of a crime they didn't commit and subsequently put to death. I believe if society is ready to have a person executed, the supporters should be sure the accused received a fair trial.

The death penalty is also cruel and unusual punishment. To extinguish a person's life is cruel no matter what way it is administered. Many states believe it is "suitable" to execute someone since they have upgraded from the traditional electric chair to the more modern gas chamber. Any way of executing someone is barbaric. If every crime's punishment was "tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye'" what would happen to society? Would the same people that support the death penalty, support getting their hand chopped off for shop-lifting?

The death penalty is a cruel and barbaric practice that must be eliminated from today's society. With the many advances that society has made, executing people for crimes the person may have or may not have committed is still practiced. It is a poor role model for our society, people can be falsely sentenced, and it is cruel and unusual punishment.