Death Penalty

“Of two methods which are equally effective in preventing murder, The one involving least harm to the murderer is to be preferred. The harm to the murderer is wholly regrettable, Like the pain of a surgical operation. It may be equally necessary, But it is not a subject for rejoicing. The vindictive feeling called ‘moral indignation’ is merely a form of cruelty. Suffering to the criminal can never be justified by the notion of vindictive punishment. If education combined with kindness is equally effective, It is to be preferred; stillmore is it to be preferred if it is more effective. ” (Russell 2009, P. 358). Therefore, The death penalty is a form of cruelty and "punishing" criminals in the worst way possible instead of trying to rehabilitate them is immoral and inhumane. My opponent has claimed that the death penalty is worthwhile as it punishes those that deserve it. This is however refuted by the fact that the death penalty is responsible for the death of innocent people:In a report that was published by the National Academy of Sciences, It was “conservatively” estimated that at least 4. 1% of those sentenced to death in the USA are innocent (Gross, O'Brien, Hu, & Kennedy, 2014). Actually, At least 74 cases where wrongful executions have most likely taken place in the USA have been identified [1], One such example is that of Jesse Tafero who was wrongfully convicted of having murdered two police officers and who was subsequently executed in 1990 [2]. During his execution, The electric chair malfunctioned thrice which "caused 1 foot high flames to shoot from Tafero's head" and which resulted in the death chamber filling with smoke and "two dozen horrified witnesses". A lawyer who was witnessing the execution described it as "burning Tafero alive" and further told that "you could smell burning human flesh" [3]. In conclusion, The death penalty does not just punish those that some might argue deserve it but also innocent people, That most certainly do not, In an inhumane way that simply disregards human dignity and therefore, The death penalty should be abolished in the 31 U. S. States where it has not yet been abolished. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------References: Russell, Bertrand (2009). The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell. Routledge. R Gross, Samuel & O'Brien, Barbara & Hu, Chen & Kennedy, Edward. (2014). Rate of false conviction of criminal defendants who are sentenced to death. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111. 10. 1073/pnas. 1306417111. [1]: The-slammer. Org. (2009). Wrongful Executions: “Fail-Safe” Judicial Systems Do Fail. [online] Available at: http://www. The-slammer. Org/carousel/wrongful-executions-%E2%80%9Cfail-safe%E2%80%9D-judicial-systems-do-fail [Accessed 19 Aug. 2018]. [2]: Lairdcarlson. Com. (2018). Jesse Tafero - Case Summary - Innocence Project by Claudia Whitman sponsored by Equal Justice USA. [online] Available at: http://www. Lairdcarlson. Com/grip/Tafero%20Case%20Summary. Htm [Accessed 19 Aug. 2018]. [3]: Washington Post. (2018). [online] Available at: https://www. Washingtonpost. Com/archive/politics/1997/03/26/flames-shoot-from-convict-at-execution/2391d686-7bc9-4bc0-af33-4db43cc98490/? Noredirect=on&utm_term=. 9766ef44ec42 [Accessed 19 Aug. 2018].