Persuasive Essay

The System that Buries its Worst Mistakes

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is defined as punishment by death for a crime. Murder coincidentally shares the same definition as capital punishment. The question is this: should capital punishment be abolished or not? The death penalty is a highly debated topic. People disagree whether capital punishment decreases crime or violates human rights. The death penalty is one of the cruelest punishments for sentencing criminals. I do not believe the death penalty should exist, even when the most heinous crimes have been committed. When families have been devastated by crimes, they are at their weakest moment they tend to seek revenge. They should resist the impulse to take revenge because that’s just as bad as committing a crime. People should be strong even “in our weakest moments” (Cuomo). The death penalty should be abolished because of disparities in sentencing, high costs, and, worst of all, executions of innocent people.

The death penalty is flawed in many ways, but disparities in sentencing play a huge role in the corrupt justice system. Why is it that more black people seem to be put to death row than whites? Or people with money always seem to get away with murders? Whitehead states, “Indeed blacks are 40% more likely to be sentenced to death than a white defendant who has committed the same crime” (Whitehead). It seems irrational that this happens considering that only “12% of blacks are in the U.S population” (Whitehead). This shows that the American justice system is corrupt and displays favoritism to the white race. The system’s officials may not pay attention to the crimes, but only to the color of the people’s skin involved. Racial discrimination does not help us to properly convict a person of the crime being committed. As stated by Cuomo, “Of the last 18 people in New York State to be executed (ending in 1963), 13 were black and one was Hispanic. That racial makeup seems an extraordinary...