Death Penalty

SHOULD WE ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY?
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While 144 countries have abolished the death penalty, over 60% of the world’s population live in countries that allow it. There has been a heated debate about the subject. Supporters cite that it serves as retribution for the victims, especially on murder related crimes and is a strong deterrent to crime. On the other hand, the death penalty abolitionists have cited numerous studies that show that the death penalty does not deter crime and a long list of innocent victims who were executed or exonerated from death row. Though there are compelling reasons for the death penalty, the reasons against it outweigh its benefits, and therefore it should be abolished.[Corteen, Karen, Sharon Morley, Paul Taylor, and Jo Turner. 2016. A Companion to Crime, Harm and Victimisation. Policy press]
One of the most compelling reasons why the death penalty should be abolished because it is could to the execution of innocent victims. Historically, many people have been sentenced to death for relatively small crimes. The criminal justice system is broken in many countries, and it has been netting innocent victims and handing them punitive sentences, among them the death penalty. For example, the controversial case of Troy Davis, who was executed in 2011 after over two decades on death row. Davis was tried and sentenced by a system that disproportionately targets the black community. His execution went ahead even though seven out of nine witnesses recanted their testimony against him. While he maintained his innocence and the prosecutorial team failed to prove, he committed the said crime. It is likely that the only crime Davis did was to be born black, and the criminal justice system gobbled him up as it has done to many other innocent people. Furthermore, many exonerees from death row have escaped death after reevaluation of evidence and circumstances surrounding their trial and sentencing. There are many cases around the world where some criminal justice victims have been exonerated posthumously after a new reevaluation of the evidence. A posthumous pardon after execution is not of much comfort to the innocent lives who had lost their lives. Colin Campbell Ross of Australia was pardoned 86 years after his death after reviewing the evidence, which shows the miscarriage of justice. The criminal justice system is so bad that 1 in every 8 people on death row is exonerated in the United States. Giving the powers to take life in an incompetent system is a gross miscarriage of justice. Death row should be abolished even if it will save one innocent life. It is better for 1000 guilty people to roam on the streets than one innocent person behind bars. For this reason, the death penalty should be abolished to avoid netting innocent people.[McNiff, Eamon. 2010. Witnesses Now Say They Lied In 1991 Trial That Sent Troy Davis to Death Row. June 24. https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/witnesses-helped-convict-man-death-row-now-recant/story?id=10995816.] [Grubel, James. 2008. "Australian man pardoned 86 years after execution." May 27. /article/us-crime-australia-pardon-idUSSYD2024920080527] [Dunham, Robert. 2021. DPIC Adds Eleven Cases to Innocence List, Bringing National Death-...