Death Penalty

The death penalty has been very controversial for a long time. 1136 people have been executed from 1997 to 2008. Most of these executions have been from lethal injection. Lethal injection is when they give you a shot that kills you. Most of the people that have to face the death penalty are murderers, treason, espionage, and other crimes. 72% of the public support the death penalty, 25% say that they oppose it, and 5% have no say on the topic. People who oppose the death penalty say that it doesn't stop crime at all, wrongly gives the government the power to take life, and they say that it creates social injustices by targeting colored people and people who can't afford attorneys more than other people. The people who support the death penalty support it because they say that it is a great tool for preserving law and order, that it helps stop crime, and it costs less than having people going to prison for life. They also try to say that it is alright because of the "eye for an eye" saying. That means if you were able to take a life that you should have your own life taken in return. Another argument for having the death penalty is that it helps families who have lost a loved one to come to some kind of closure and that if someone killed someone and they have to face the death penalty it ensures that they will never do it again. I think that the death penalty is not alright. The majority of America support the death penalty but there has been a slight decline since there was a peak in 1994. I think it is not good because I think that everyone deserves a second chance. You can always change someone, even if they have done something really bad. I also think it is bad because I can't think of any crime that you should be killed over. Another reason I think it is not good because I think that a prisoner would prefer to have the death penalty than spend the rest of his life in prison so why give him the satisfaction. The public opinion is that if they had to choose between life in prison with no possibility of parole or have the death penalty, 52% prefer the death penalty and 43% prefer the life imprisonment.

Sources:
http://deathpenalty.procon.org/
http://www.gallup.com/poll/9913/Death-Penalty.aspx#3