Capital Punishment Of The United States Essay Sample

Surely in the 21st century, there would be a way for everyone to be pleased with how life in America is regulated. Nope. Not when it comes to the death penalty. One side of the argument believes that the death penalty is wrong no matter what and that everyone deserves to live a long, healthy life and forgiven for all the horrible things they may have done that led to them getting convicted of such a big crime. On the opposing side, some others believe that the death penalty should be used on all occasions deemed necessary. What is overlooked about both of these opinions is that many other factors have to be taken into consideration before determining the constitutionality of the death penalty such as the potential for a botched execution, wrongful convictions (in other words innocence), and taking into consideration the mental capacity of the person. In most cases, the death penalty should be legal, except under conditions of mental disorder, the uncertainty of the defendant’s conviction, or if it violates basic 8th amendment rights.

Executions have had a long history in the United States. For a while, there were many different ways people could be executed, and many of them were very gruesome. As the world has evolved, the United States has come up with more “humane” ways to execute people including lethal injection, electric chair, etc. However, are these humane ways to rid ourselves of serious criminals? Although the media makes it sound like the death penalty is always in a humane way, it cannot be humane every single time someone is executed. Believe it or not, there are a lot of botched executions that have occurred in America’s long history of executions. According to Austin Sarat-author of the book Gruesome Spectacles- and in the article “America's Long and Gruesome History of Botched Executions”, “Between 1890 and 2010, the U.S executed 8,776 people. Of those executions, 276 were bungled in some way.” Even though people who are executed are truly the world’s worst criminals, a humane way should still be used to let them pass. No matter what they have done, it is a violation of human rights and a reference to the 8th amendment if execution is failed. The 8th amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, excessive fines imposed, or cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Botched executions should fall under this category of “cruel and unusual punishment” because it is intentionally harming someone with the intent of killing them, eventually. Although in some cases there may be inevitably be one or two people that have problems with passing away peacefully, there should still be some prevention methods for emergencies in situations where the original method fails and another one can be used to ensure a humane passing. Many have neglected to acknowledge this past of the death penalty because it seems like the media is always presenting that it is completely safe, but it isn’t. An article located at the site Death Penalty Information Center reviews a story about a man that was being executed by lethal injection, John Grant, who reportedly suffered Pulmonary Edema, Intramuscular Hemorrhage, and Aspirated Vomit whilst being executed (DPIC). Keep in mind that executions are supposed to be humane. Another part of the article states, “Emory University pathologist Dr. Mark Edgar told Oklahoma City’s Fox 25 that the prisoners ‘would be aware of sensations of drowning, asphyxia, and terror if you have severe pulmonary edema like most of these inmates did.’” Even though this way of execution is considered to be the safest and foolproof method, it still has its flaws, and its outcomes are downright horrifying. If lethal injection and other methods of execution are going to still be used, people who execute them need to be well educated as well as have a strong idea of how they will deal with emergencies like Mr. Grant’s.

Another component of debating the death penalty deals with cases when some people may be mentally disabled or have a disorder that doesn’t allow them to think as a normal person would. A file stored on Death Penalty Information Center addresses the official ban of executions on mentally disabled people. A part of the report states, “In Atkins v. Virginia, the Court held that it is a violation of the ban on cruel unusual punishment to execute death row inmates who have mental retardation.” Contradictory to this statement although later implicated through the law, some people are still facing issues with the death penalty and gaining justice for disabled persons. A case involving a prisoner diagnosed with auditory and visual hallucinations and delusional thought processes from paranoid schizophrenia rose early in May 2022. Clarence Dixon, the prisoner set to be executed was diagnosed with these illnesses and was still considered competent to be executed. An article by Death Penalty Information Center reads, “At his January 1978 trial, then-Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sandra Day O’Connor, later a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, found Dixon not guilty by reason of insanity.” Why this changed in the coming years, there is no explanation. This law was initially issued to stop the execution of mentally disabled people, although it is still happening right beneath every American citizen’s nose.

The final, and most obvious factor in opposing the death penalty in certain cases, is when the criminal that is being tried is wrongfully convicted. A handful of people in the United States who have been put on death row are, in reality, innocent people mixed up in a bad situation. An analysis by the National Registry of Exornations states, “As of May 31, 2017, the Registry reports that official misconduct was a contributing factor in 571 of 836 homicide exonerations 68.3%, very often in combination with perjury or false accusation, which also was a contributing factor in 68.3% of homicide exonerations.” The justice system in the United States is strong, there is no doubt about it; however, there are many flaws that still exist. Even though anyone involved in the trial has to answer the question, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”, many people have neglected to agree with this statement and lie while being tried. This results in people involved in major cases being wrongfully convicted and put to death when in reality they are innocent and died for essentially no reason.

As there is to every controversial issue, the death penalty also has two other sides to the argument: the belief that anyone that is on death row should be killed no matter what, and the belief that everyone deserves a second chance, and the right to continue living their life, despite past mistake that they have made. As previously stated and explained, I believe that not everyone should be put to death. Many other factors have to be considered to make an educated decision against a person or a group of people with similar situations. As for people who believe in life over anything, they have to take into consideration why the person ended up on death row in the first place. They have done something tragic and horrifying, and most of the time this has affected someone else’s life other than themselves. People on death row are killers, rapists, etc., who are harmful to the country they live in and truly do need to be taken care of. Only under certain circumstances do I believe these people can be handled and dealt with appropriately, not involving the death penalty.

Although a highly controversial topic, it doesn’t have to be. As previously discussed, the death penalty has its positives and negatives. Yes, it should be legal, except in cases of mental disorder, true conviction, and in a humane way. The ways of execution in the past have been very brutal, although some may argue that it is what people have deserved. While this topic continues to move on, I am sure that there will be more debates that are brought up about the constitutionality of the United State’s capital punishment. Moving forward, I can only hope as an American myself that we fix the errors with the death penalty, but continue to use it as a punishment in the most extreme scenarios.