Resolved: The United States should Discontinue the Use of Capital Punishment

Ok, thanks for clearing those things up at the start. 1. I actually agree with a lot of what Con is saying in this argument. Yes, preventing violence is the goal. However, he gets a few things totally wrong. The death penalty is not about revenge. It is about justice and vengeance. As I stated in my earlier arguments, some pose such a significant risk or have done such horrible, unimaginable things to people that the only safe and just punishment is death. That is where the difference between vengeance and revenge comes in. Pro says that the death penalty is about revenge, or "A more personal form of vengeance, and usually centers around feelings of anger or resentment" Vengeance "...is a word that connotes a pursuit of justice for someone other than one"s self" Basically, vengeance means getting justice for others who have been wronged. Revenge is just retaliation. Clearly, in criminal cases, all punishments are determined as vengeance, not petty revenge. It is justice, not retaliation. Yes, the problems facing prison workers who carry out the death penalty. However, this problem seems to be more about prisons themselves the death sentences. Check out this article. https://www.theguardian.com... Here's a few quotes. ""You almost become non-human, robotic, emotionless," said Charles Ewlad, the warden at Riverhead correctional facility at the eastern end of New York"s Long Island" That sounds just like what many workers who carry out death sentences feel like, and these are only prison guards! These are some of the things they have to deal with that lead to this. " He has seen inmates show up at recreational activities with a nine-inch shank sticking out of their eye, others hang themselves, and still others cut their arteries and bleed to death. "I didn"t know how to release the stuff I kept dreaming about. You"re doing tier count and you"re watching a human being die in front of your eyes because he"s coughing up lungs and screaming with his eyes for help and there"s nothing you can do," Van Patten said. "Even though he"s an inmate, he"s still human" This isn't meant to trivialize what the workers who enforce the death penalty go through, just to show that it is more of a problem in prisons themselves. Yes, resources should be used for the betterment of society, but like I stated above, some crimes are so terrible that the only just punishment is death. Some people are so dangerous that the only safe punishment for everyone who has to come into contact with them is death for the criminal. 2.The money? Yes. If it was to ensure that people like Ted Bundy, James Holmes, (the Dark Knight shooter) and Seung-hui Cho (the Virginia Tech shooter) were absolutely unable to kill anyone else? yes. Most definitely yes. As for the lives and well being of the workers, see my arguments above. It is a problem with the prisons, not Death Row. 3. Again, see earlier arguments and read that article. 4. I did not say (or imply) that anyone found guilty of an offense punishable by death would be killed. I apologize if that's what you got from it, my argument there was very unclear. The simple way to fix racism in trials is to have a very thorough jury selection process, including tests for unconscious bias, as well as a mixed jury of all races and genders. That's how you fix racism in death penalty cases, not removing the punishment. I keep thinking its so funny how a 13 year old and a 15 year old are debating this topic better and more formally then many adults would... Great arguments, good luck in the next round! Sources https://www.theguardian.com... http://writingexplained.org...