The freedom to live Essay Example for Free

The freedom to live Essay The freedom to live Gandhi once said, An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, very much truth can be found in this statement. Is it really moral to give the same punishment to someone that we are punishing them for? The death penalty is a very touchy subject to most for a good reason, in my eyes the death penalty is injustice. For reasons such as money, religion, the principal of knowing right from wrong as well as the wrongly accused, and the prolonging suffering of the victims’, families and loved ones. Promoting the death penalty as a punishment promotes that killing is an okay solution to a difficult problem, that’s not something I wish to teach our youth. It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life without parole. Millions of dollars could be spent on violence-prevention efforts, solving unsolved cases, and increasing victim services. Executions cost two million dollars per person, keeping the criminal in prison for life cost around five hundred thousand dollars per person. As a tax paying American citizen I find it a waste of good tax payer’s money. The money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we live. This country has religious freedom, which is wonderful in more ways than one. Most religions such as Catholic, Presbyterian, Quaker, Amish, Buddhist, and Interfaith forbid the death penalty. Although isolated passages of religious scriptures have been quoted in supported of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral. However the court doesn’t take religion into consideration, in turn, takes away a person religious freedom, which is something the country, stands proudly for. Inadequate legal representation plays a major role in determining ones sentence. Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty, is the quality of the representation he or she is provided. Almost all defendants who face capital charges cannot afford an attorney and rely on the state to appoint one for them. Many death row inmates were convicted and sentenced the death penalty while being defended by court appointed lawyers who are often the worst- paid, the most- inexperienced, and the least- skillful lawyers. Death row inmates today face a one-in-three chance of being executed without having the case properly investigated by a competent attorney and without having any claims of innocence or unfairness presented or heard; injustice at its finest. Protests have been going on in many states for the abolishment of the death penalty, families and loved ones of the murder victims included. They support alternatives to the death penalty for reasons such as the death penalty being a traumatizing experience dealing with the constant pain and remembrance for many years. Negative attention is directed on the crime and the accused, instead of where it belongs — on the family and loved ones of the murder victim and on the community. Life without parole provides certain punishment and suffering without the constant reopening of wounds; it punishes the criminal without putting him or her in the headlines, making it slightly easier for the families. Only eighteen states have abolished the death penalty, making the other thirty two will bring the good people of America better use of their money, their time, and effort. For those families and loved ones of the murder victims it will give them peace of mind, and hopefully make their rattled lives calmer. If we find it wrong to murder one another, then what makes it any different from the death penalty? We are not god; we do not decide who lives and who dies. However we do decide on what this country stands for, and what we as the people of the United States of America stand for. The freedom to live Gandhi once said, An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, very much truth can be found in this statement. Is it really moral to give the same punishment to someone that we are punishing them for? The death penalty is a very touchy subject to most for a good reason, in my eyes the death penalty is injustice. For reasons such as money, religion, the principal of knowing right from wrong as well as the wrongly accused, and the prolonging suffering of the victims’, families and loved ones. Promoting the death penalty as a punishment promotes that killing is an okay solution to a difficult problem, that’s not something I wish to teach our youth. It costs far more to execute a person than to keep him or her in prison for life without parole. Millions of dollars could be spent on violence-prevention efforts, solving unsolved cases, and increasing victim services. Executions cost two million dollars per person, keeping the criminal in prison for life cost around five hundred thousand dollars per person. As a tax paying American citizen I find it a waste of good tax payer’s money. The money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we live. This country has religious freedom, which is wonderful in more ways than one. Most religions such as Catholic, Presbyterian, Quaker, Amish, Buddhist, and Interfaith forbid the death penalty. Although isolated passages of religious scriptures have been quoted in supported of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral. However the court doesn’t take religion into consideration, in turn, takes away a person religious freedom, which is something the country, stands proudly for. Inadequate legal representation plays a major role in determining ones sentence. Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty, is the quality of the representation he or she is provided. Almost all defendants who face capital charges cannot afford an attorney and rely on the state to appoint one for them. Many death row inmates were convicted and sentenced the death penalty while being defended by court appointed lawyers who are often the worst- paid, the most- inexperienced, and the least- skillful lawyers. Death row inmates today face a one-in-three chance of being executed without having the case properly investigated by a competent attorney and without having any claims of innocence or unfairness presented or heard; injustice at its finest. Protests have been going on in many states for the abolishment of the death penalty, families and loved ones of the murder victims included. They support alternatives to the death penalty for reasons such as the death penalty being a traumatizing experience dealing with the constant pain and remembrance for many years. Negative attention is directed on the crime and the accused, instead of where it belongs — on the family and loved ones of the murder victim and on the community. Life without parole provides certain punishment and suffering without the constant reopening of wounds; it punishes the criminal without putting him or her in the headlines, making it slightly easier for the families. Only eighteen states have abolished the death penalty, making the other thirty two will bring the good people of America better use of their money, their time, and effort. For those families and loved ones of the murder victims it will give them peace of mind, and hopefully make their rattled lives calmer. If we find it wrong to murder one another, then what makes it any different from the death penalty? We are not god; we do not decide who lives and who dies. However we do decide on what this country stands for, and what we as the people of the United States of America stand for.