Abolishing the Death Penalty in the US

Cecil Walker

Background

• Very heated debate

• Has roots in the colonial times and continued to grow

• Furman v. Georgia suspended the penalty

• Was circumvented only a few months later

Why Abolish the Death Penalty?

Costs more than life imprisonment

Does NOT deter crime

Unfairly Applied

Costs• Death penalty costs

average around 1 million to 3 million per case

• Average cost for life in prison: $500, 000

• Money saved could be put to better use

=

Crime Deterrent?• Doesn’t work because:• Not consistently and

promptly employed• Criminals do not consider

the punishment before they act

• Life imprisonment is severe enough for a rational person

Unfairness• Decision for

death is arbitrary in many cases

• Racially bias• Also biased

against the poor, uneducated, and friendless

The Death Penalty is Irreversible!

Groups Against the Death Penalty

The Last One

Isn’t Time to Abolish the Death Penalty?

Works CitedBedeau, Hugo. "The Case Against the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. American Civil Liberties Union, 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2011.

<http://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/case-against-death-penalty>"Facts & Figures." NCADP - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Web. 21 Oct. 2011.

<http://www.ncadp.org/index.cfm?content=5>.Lowe, Wesley. Pro Death Penalty Webpage. Wesley Lowe, 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://wesleylowe.com/cp.html>.Oliveira, Nancy. "What We Sacrifice on Death Row." San Francisco Chronicle. 30 June 2008. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. <http://www.deathpenalty.org/downloads/Nancy%20Oliveir a%20SF%20Chron%20June%2030.2008%20What%20we%20sacrifice%20on %20Death%20Row.pdf>. Photograph. Andrew James. Andrew James, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.

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