According to the Death Penalty Information Center in the United States, “More than 118 people have been exonerated from death row since 1972, including 21 from the state of Florida and 18 from the state of Illinois.”
With this information alone, the process would seem to be a bit flawed, don’t you think?
My personal opinions regarding the Death Penalty are strong, however, with the mere fact that many people have been discovered innocent, while on death row, I am frightened for those who are still sitting awaiting death.
How many are guilty? Innocent? I do not know. But, if just one is innocent, that is one too many.
For some, this may be an issue that is ignored, or overlooked. But if you would, for one moment, imagine if you, or someone you loved were accused of a crime that you did not commit. Imagine that you were told that you would be sentenced to death. In addition, you would probably be given plenty of time to think about it too, as many sit on death row for years and years.
For those that do not have the funds to hire a good team of attorneys, death becomes quite probable. How sad is it that we live in a country that allows one to receive less punishment, or even to escape punishment, because they have more money? Justice does not mean that if you are rich, then you are innocent.
The death penalty has also been used in some cases as a form of revenge. Families of victims may feel that if the person that killed their loved one was too, killed, that vengeance would be served. Unfortunately, killing the accused murderer does not bring back the victim. Many families have found the process unsatisfying and still have all of the pain from the loss of their loved one.
I think that it is essential that we all look at the flawed system, and correct these flaws before one more person is put to death. Life without parole is an option, and in most cases costs much less than the death penalty process. I realize that it is a complicated issue, but surely it is worth it to correct the errors when a person’s life is at stake. Once a person is dead, nothing can be done. It is truly worthless to apologize to a corpse.