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Discussion on Capital Punishment
I believe that capital punishment is morally wrong. The death penalty is a form of state-
sanctioned murder, and it is wrong to kill another human being, no matter what that person has
done. There is also the risk of executing an innocent person. The death penalty does not deter
crime, even if the person is guilty. There are other ways to punish criminals that are more
humane and effective.
In 2015, an innocent man named Glen Ford was executed in Louisiana after 30 years on
death row. He was convicted of a crime he did not commit, and the real killer was never found.
An innocent person can be convicted; even if the person is guilty, the death penalty does not
deter crime. Other examples include Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in 2004 in Texas for a
fire that killed his three young children. After his death, it was determined that the fire was not
caused by arson, as was initially thought. Anthony Ray Hinton was on death row in Alabama for
nearly 30 years before being exonerated in 2015. Lester Bower was executed in Texas in 2015
after being convicted of killing four men in a plane crash. It was later determined that the crash
was caused by mechanical failure, and Bower was not responsible.
The examples of Glen Ford, Cameron Todd, Anthony Ray, and Lester Bower show that
the death penalty is often carried out against innocent people or people who are not guilty of the
crime they are accused of. Killing innocent people is just one of the many reasons why capital
punishment is wrong. It is a form of state-sanctioned murder, and it is wrong to kill another
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human being, no matter what that person has done. There are other ways to punish criminals that
are more humane and effective.
