The issue of death penalty is always a controversial one. People may hold different views due to their distinctive angles. Some claim that it is a good way to prevent crimes, others, on the other hand, think that it is an evil thing to do, in all circumstances, to anyone. As far as I am concerned, I think that death penalty should be canceled because it may execute innocent people and it can't bring the victims back. In addition, there is no sufficient evidence that death penalty can deter crimes.First of all, death penalty is radically different from other punishments since it is final and irreversible. It is inevitable for human beings, even judges and juries, to m ...view middle of the document...
Some supporter of the death penalty may always think that those family members have the desire for revenge. However, the idea of " an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life" is not so simple. Many victims' families recognize that the death penalty will inflict the same pain they have felt on the criminal's family. For instance, when one mother was asked at the funeral of her murdered son if she want the murderer to be sentenced to death, she replied: " No, there has been enough killing." In fact, though it is no doubt that the murderer is guilty, executing the person is still not going to save the victim's life. As Odine Stern, former director of parents of murdered children said, " No sentence can ever equate to the loss of your child's life and horrors of murder."Third, death penalty is not an effective way to decrease crimes. According to the report of ACLU, there is no credible evidence that capital punishment deters crimes. In United States, crime rates of states that have death penalty laws are no lower than those of states without such laws. In fact, states with the death penalty have higher crime rates than those without. At a Justice Department news briefing last year, former Attorney General Janet Reno said, "I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent. And I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point."In sum, it is obvious that death penalty should be canceled because it may execute innocent people and it neither can bring the victims back, nor deter crimes.
