Death Penalty (Editorial)

Blake Longhenry And Alex Frydenlund

Period 7

Death Penalty

Death Penalty is a topic that has been talked about for as long as some people can remember. The death penalty is a topic that is looked at different by many different people and I believe that the death penalty is something that should not be an option for the government's use.  There are many reasons the death penalty should be banned a few are they might kill someone wrongfully accused, second it is more expensive, and third its wrong for the government to kilI. I can see why some citizens of the United States see the death penalty as a useful way to punish convicted criminals for doing something so bad that they are killed. Some people do deserve the death penalty, but if the government kills a murderer isn't the government doing the same thing?

The first reason it should be banned is because they might kill an innocent man or woman. Total 140 people have been exonerated since 1973 which means all those innocent people have been on death row and on there way to being executed and and that is something u can never give back to a person after it happened. In 1986 Joseph O’Dell was convicted of murder and rape in the state of Virginia. Throughout his time on death row would often demonstrate his innocence. He even asked the court system for a DNA test but was refused and put to death on July 23rd, 1997. The evidence now supports O’Dell to be innocent. The government could have just murdered an innocent man. That is a risk that the government should not even think about taking.

The death penalty is also more expensive case then a regular one and keeping someone on death row for a year is more expensive than a regular prison. The average death penalty case costs about $1.26 million and non-death penalty cases cost about $740.00  There is no reason to spend the extra money and kill the person than have them serve life in prison and still live. That is just another reason why the death penalty is something that should be banned in all states.

My third and last point is that killing someone is just wrong. I believe and many others also believe that the government should not have the power to kill its own citizens. The government having the power to kill is wrong and they are sometimes doing the same thing that the convict did murder. It doesn't matter if the government kills someone it is still considered murder.