Innocent Lives Lost Problems with Capital Punishment in the United States
Innocent people are sentenced to death each year because of corrupt practices and discrimination in the criminal justice system. ... This type of action begs the question of why innocent people are being convicted of crimes in a system that is supposed to protect them. The capital punishment system in the United States of America is in a sorry state. ... In Illinois alone, seventeen innocent people have been exonerated since 1977 and half of all the imposed death sentences have been reversed on appeal (Christian Century; Green). ... Errors in the capital punishment system can be revealed through examination of past cases, situations and statistics. Problems with the current capital punishment system include discrimination, age and mental ability issues, constitutionality and the determination of guilt. Until the necessary reforms are made to ensure the Ford 2 disbursement of sentences is non-discriminatory and innocent lives are protected, the death penalty should not be imposed. ... Studies show that the death penalty is five times more likely to be imposed if the victim is white and eighty-four percent of the people already executed had a white victim (Capital Punishment). ... Too often in capital punishment cases, ineffectual representation is provided and important questions or objections are not raised at the appropriate times. ... Obviously, the provided defense attorney’s in capital punishment cases are often inadequate, but what is worse is that these lawyers are not found ineffective within the courts. ... Problems arise when the prospective jurors are not individually questioned because this leads them to give politically correct responses in Ford 3 front of their peers and their true feelings and racial opinions are not revealed for fear of seeming racist. ... Racial discrimination in capital punishment cases could be prevented if certain measures were taken. ... Currently, in nine states (Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington) there is no minimum age requirement for capital punishment and since 1962, two hundred eighty one people executed were juveniles when they were convicted (Capital Punishment). Ford 4 The execution of the mentally retarded has been an issue in capital punishment cases for decades. ... A court case in 1989 ruled that the execution of the mentally retarded did not violate the eighth amendment, but in 2001, eighteen of the thirty-eight states with the death penalty forbid its use in cases involving the mentally retarded. While the exact number of people with mental disabilities on death row is indeterminable, there have been thirty-five people with mental retardation executed in the United States since 1976 (Executing the Mentally Retarded). Another problem with capital punishment lies in deciding whether or not it is constitutional. The eighth amendment to the United States Constitution states, “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Lesson Eight). The conflict arises when the question of who decides what is cruel and unusual punishment is addressed. ... According to the Internet article, “Lesson Eight: Analysis of the 8th Amendment,” “the Founding Fathers wanted the states. ... The Supreme Court ruled that every existing death penalty law in the United States was unconstitutional in the monumental case of Furman v. ... So essentially, what is considered cruel and unusual punishment is an ever-changing opinion of our society. ... An over reliance on jailhouse informants also causes problem in the capital punishment system. ... In this case, a lack of forensic evidence at the time of the trial convicted an innocent man.