Argumentative writing

A Dead Body + A Dead Body ≠ Justice
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be eager to deal out death in judgment”( J.R.R Lord of the Rings). When were humans given the power to decided when someone should die? The death penalty is against the United States constitution, does not do its expected job to scare people out of killing, kills innocent people, and is a waste of money. The world would be a better place without it.
The death penalty has many pros and cons but looking into the evidence for the death penalty the cons outweigh the pros. First off the death penalty violates the “cruel and unusual” clause in the bill of rights, one of the many things this nation was founded upon “In ruling California’s death penalty unconstitutional, a federal judge said [that] the system is so broken, it unfairly leaves inmates with uncertain fates – often for decades” (Steve Almasy, CNN). The government has a moral obligation to its people to uphold the rules and rights put in place and the death penalty goes against  that. The Bill Of Rights is the collective name for the 10 amendments to the constitution. Americans work for the freedoms given to them, by paying taxes and following laws, and in exchange Americans citizens get protection and certain rights. These amendments were made to better American citizens and It has already been decided that the death penalty goes directly against the Constitution therefore, it is violating the rights of the people and is doing more harm than good. On the other hand, supporters of the death penalty argues that people should listen to what the majority of the people say, but looking at the peoples rights its clear that the death penalty is doing more harm then good. From a 2013 poll 60% of Americans favor the death penalty and 35% of Americans oppose the death penalty. Even though the Constitution states that the government must consider what the most amount of people favor, the government also has to do what is best for the people. From Washington Post, “states without the death penalty have lower murder and crime rates.”  The article goes on to say that in the last 30 years, over 130 people were released because they were proven innocent when the case was revisited. So as the the article states, the death penalty is useless because crime rates are lower in states without the death penalty.The government must realize that the death penalty is unconstitutional and that the united states [no second person - maintain third person throughout] would be better off without it.
Another  reason why the death penalty does more harm than good would bethat innocent people are being killed. “At least 4.1% of all defendants sentenced to death in the US in the modern era are innocent” Pilkington). Pilkington stresses that the innocence of more than 200 prisoners still in the system may never be recognized.This means that 1 out of 25 prisoners who were convicted of horrible crimes were actually innocent. If one out of twenty five planes that went up in the air had a crash landing, would anyone come near an airport? If the death penalty was not in place then the US would be lessening the chance of innocent people being killed. Some people who are pro death penalty may say that we world is a better place because the 95.9% of people who did unspeakable things have been taken off the streets, forever. But the death penalty continues to harm the community once a killer has been sentenced. “Every time a killer is sentenced to die, a school closes” (Erb). She says this because the death penalty is so costly is a complete was of money. With California’s current death row population of 670, that accounts for a mere $63.3 million annually. Life without parole is a better option because if they are found innocent at one point they won’t be dead and can live out the rest of their lives.
It should be taken into consideration by the government that sentencing a person to death row significantly costs more than life in prison, and for example the US could be using this money for schools and bettering young americans education. “A recent Duke University study of North Carolina’s death penalty costs found that the state could save $11 million a year by substituting life in prison for the death penalty” ( Barnes). Not only is the death penalty going against our Constitution and at times kills innocent people, but it is also very costly. The Nationcould be using this money for schools and getting ahead in education instead of using our hard earned tax money towards the killing of other people. Some who say that the amount of money does not matter, as long as justice is being served to those who have done horrible things such as murder and rape. But a dead body plus a dead body does not equal justice. What is the nation telling the public? why kill murderers to show killing is wrong? Plus money does matter. That is hard earned taxpayers’ money that is used to kill people and occasionally kill innocent people . Barnes also states that “an earlier Duke study found that the state [of North Carolina] spend $2.1 million more on a death penalty case than on one seeking a life sentence” ( Barnes). This $2.1 million dollars per inmate that is being spent of killing a human being is frankly, ridiculous. It would be more beneficial to the country if we used this money for causes that will be helping our communities.
With all these reasons and more this is why the death penalty does more harm than good. How and why the United States would be a better place without it. The death penalty goes against the rights this nation promises and fights for, is infinite and is lacking the justice it promises, kills the innocent, and a waste of hard working taxpayers money. On top of that the power to take someone's life away is too much power for a government to have, and its immoral and wrong. The United States would be a better place without the death penalty.