Death Penalty #3

The stages leading up to the death penalty can guarantee that no innocent person will be executed, but the problem is, is that it can be but is not. The court appoints an attorney if the defendant cannot afford one, this allows for everyone to have representation during their trail. This is very fair and creates a lesser chance of executing the innocent, but after they are proven guilty, "the constitution does not require that a defendant be provided with a lawyer representing him throughout the appeal process" (deathpenaltycurriculum.org), because the Constitution does not require this then many defendants do not get the opportunity to prove their innocence or get justice. The courts that are set up for appeal for death penalty cases help protect the innocent from being convicted, but only those who can afford it. This creates a problem with executing more innocent poor people than wealthier people. This creates the stages leading up to the death penalty to not guarantee innocence at all, rather it creates a separation of executions according to socioeconomic status.

The most human method of execution is lethal injection. No other method of execution should be allowed, it is cruel and unusual punishment. I do not know if I agree with the death penalty, but I do believe the process to be as painless and as smooth as possible. While there are flaws to every method, death by lethal injection is the least painless and appears to have the last room for error. I do believe though that the injection should be given by a qualified doctor to increase the success rate. All of the other forms of execution are forms of torture, and that is cruel and unusual punishment for our government to support the torture of a prisoner. The method of death by firring squad, hanging, electric chair, gas chamber, are not guaranteed to be a quick and painless death and the result of error is much more torturous than the government should be allowed because it causes them excruciating pain where lethal injection puts the prisoner to sleep.

While looking at the state by state data there was defiantly a trend in deaths and number of death row inmates according the regions. The southern part of America has many more executions than anywhere else. I think this is an issue that needs to be looked at seriously because having the government sentence someone to die should not be used for any other purpose than to get justice. I believe that some of these states may be abusing their power. Many states in the northern east part of our country do not even have the death penalty and if they do their number of executions is very low. The other thing I noticed was that the number of black people executed in the south is much higher than the number of white people executed in the south, where everywhere else in the country the number is much more even.

The current information about the death penalty today still leaves me unsure about it. I think there are many flaws and when dealing with someone else's life these flaws are not okay. I believe the idea of the death penalty is reasonable, that under certain circumstances it is the best way to achieve justice. I believe the representation for inmates on death row needs to be better or at least there, defendants that appear to be sentenced to death due to racial motivation need to be looked at closer even without an appeal, states should have a limit on the number of deaths, and lethal injection should be the only method for death. If the death penalty was a better system and was taken as seriously as it is by all states and all people then it could be used as a good method to achieve justice.