An Argument Against the Death Penalty

"The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society," this once said Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. In the United States, the death penalty is often promoted as a way to deter violence and make society safer, yet scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that executions discourage …

…to ensure closure for the victim's families. Any form of execution is inhumane, just as inhumane as act that the criminals themselves committed. The search for a "humane" way of killing people should be seen for what it is, a search to make executions more pleasant to those carrying out the killing, to the governments who wish to appear more humane, and to the public, in whose name the execution is to be carried out.