Capital Punishment The Death Penalty - 932 Words

Alexis Binch Ms. Stevens English 9 Honors 6th May 2016 Capital Punishment Tom Robinson is a Black, unfairly tried, innocent character being tried for Capital Punishment for falsely accused of raping a white girl in the book â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird.† (Lee, Harper.). This is clearly wrong. Governments should not concern itself with taking people s lives. Capital punishment is a legally authorised killing for a crime. In the modern United States capital punishment is only used for punishing murder. The 1930’s was the decade in which had the highest rate of capital punishment in American history. In that decade only two states made capital punishment illegal. Capital punishment is unjust because of the eighth amendment which wherein is†¦show more content†¦Putting a person into excruciating pain purposely would seem unusual and cruel. No matter what a person has done they should not be punished to such extent. The purpose of punishment is to show an example to prevent an action from happening. If the government itself is to inflict just as the person who is being punished inflicts then the government is at the same level or lower as the person being punished. This only creates an example of murder or destruction. On April 22nd, 1983 John Evans was executed and â€Å"After the first jolt of electricity, sparks and flames erupted†¦ to Evans s leg. The electrode burst from the strap holding it in place and caught on fire†¦ Two physicians entered the chamber and found a heartbeat†¦ and another jolt of electricity was applied. This resulted in more smoke and burning flesh. Again the doctors found a heartbeat†¦ a third jolt of electricity was applied. The execution took 14 minutes and left Evans s body charred and smoldering.† (Radelet, Michael L.) Often the health factors of the victim can add to the suffering. Electrocution can lead to singeing of hair or skin, which one could argue, is cruel and unusual. Capital Punishment should not be used because not everyone sentenced to it is guaranteed to be guilty and the finality of the punishment. Killing someone can not be reversed. One can’t reimburse someone for taking their life. If a person was proven