NAME: Kayla Gobble
THESIS: The death penalty should be abolished and should have never been an option of
punishment to begin with.
BACKGROUND: There are many reasons why the death penalty should be abolished. The risk
of executing possible innocent people is a concern, it is a violation of our human rights, and it
does not deter crime like many think it does. The death penalty has been the main form of the
worst kind of punishment throughout all of human history, and is largely reserved for people that
have commit gruesome crimes. The death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976.
Since then, 138 innocent women and men have thankfully been released frmo death row, some
of those being minutes away from execution. To execute an innocent person is morally
unacceptable, and that is a risk we should not take.
OBJECTIVE: The main objection here is to bring awareness as to why the death penalty should
be abolished. Serving a life sentence without parole can be just as effective, and there is no
possible innocent lives being lost, human rights aren’t violated, and the unethical part of it to
deter crime can be swayed.
SUPPORTING POINTS:
1. Possibility of innocence.
a. It’s an irrevocable sentence.
b. Instead of death row, you substitute a sentence of life without parole.
c. When the State kills, we all participate in innocent lives potentially being lost.
2. Violation of human rights.
a. There is no humane way to kill.
b. We have the right to life.
c. It goes against the 8th Amendment.
3. The death penalty prevents future murders.
a. There is a better alternative: Life in prison without parole.
b. Death penalty does not deter crime.
c. There is a better way to help the families of murder victims.
COUNTER-ARGUMENTS:
1. Executing the innocent is a rare but an appropriate risk of the death penalty. The possibility
exists that the use of capital punishment is a possibility of executing an innocent person. It has
found that this risk is minimal, and is shared by many across the globe. The death penalty saves
innocent lives by permanently taking away the murderers for good. With that said, this
punishment is the most effective and prevents these killers from repeating their crimes. “Life
without parole” might prevent them from some crimes, but that does not prevent them from
murdering in prison.
2. Their human rights were thrown out the window the day they decided to gruesomely kill
someone in a horrible manner. Life is a human right. So, when you take away life it is a violation
of human rights, therefore, your life can be taken. Those who say that the death penalty is in fact
a human rights violation have no foundation to do so. Of course, I agree that life is an important
human right. But, your freedom is taken aw-ay when you commit such crimes that take others life
away. The only reason some groups are against executing people is simply because they don’t
like it and have no other basis. These criminals that have killed h...
