In the criminal justice system in the United States, one of the most important pillars it is based on is the ideal that every defendant should receive a fair trial. While mistakes are bound to occur in every system, there are some punishments that cannot be remedied. Of all the punishments used in the criminal justice system the death penalty is the most irreversible. Capital Punishment has been used since 1700 B.C. and since then the methods of executions changed along with the countries that allow this type of punishment. The U.S. has always maintained capital punishment in some states, and even with support for capital punishment, execution rates, and death sentences at an all time low, there are still problems with the use of this punishment. Due to the difficulty of imposing the death penalty fairly from a legality standpoint, the death penalty should be abolished in the United States. 

In 1972 the Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty was being administered arbitrarily and resulted in cruel and unusual punishment. However, in 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court re-instated the use of the death penalty after the states had revised their systems in an attempt to implement the death penalty in a more consistent and fair manor (Dieter). Even with these changes, there are still problems that cause the death penalty to lead to injustice. One of the irregularities of the death penalty is certain counties in the U.S. use the death penalty far more frequently than others. Audrey Kobayashi, professor of geography at Queens University, wrote an article, "Justice versus justice: Geographies of the Death Penalty and Place-Based Activism in the Troy Davis Case", in it she discusses the geographic disparities that occur when it comes to capital punishment. Her article notes, "Since 1976, just 15 counties accounted for a third of all executions"(Kobayashi). The fact that where a defendant's trial is held may determine the likelihood of them receiving the death penalty is problematic as it demonstrates how unequally the penalty is imposed. Due to the severity of the punishment, it should be decided systematically and not on the whim of the prosecution in a particular court. Kobayashi also points out that since 1977 there has been 1,383 death penalty executions and the state of Texas has the greatest number of deaths, which is 508 out of 1,383 (Kobayashi). The differences at the county and state level in regards to how often the death penalty is enforced demonstrates one of the many irregularities that exist in regards to the death penalty. These irregularities help to show how difficult it is for the U.S. to impose the death penalty in a consistent way, which is why it should no longer be used as a punishment. 

As I previously pointed out, the frequency of imposing the death penalty varies across the country but another way it is arbitrary is the appeals process in the death penalty cases. Richard Dieter, previous director for The Death Penalty Information Center wrote a report entitled, "Struck by Lightning: The Continuing Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty, Thirty-Five Years After Its Re-Instatement in 1976". This report points out the issues that have continued to arise even after the death penalty was revised in 1976. Dieter points out how states vary on decisions regarding appeals in death penalty cases, for example, since 2009, Pennsylvania has revsersed 124 death sentences on appeal, 95% of the time when these cases were tried again, the defendant was given a life sentence or less (Dieter). There is a disparity between states because in certain states reversals are very rare. Dieter also states that as a result of Virginia's low reversal rate, "70% of Virginia's death sentences have resulted in executions, compared to 15% nationally"(Dieter). The appeals process plays a vital role in determining if a death penalty conviction prevails and there is a large variance between states. When handling a death penalty case, it is imperative that a defendant receive a fair trial but also a chance for appeal if they believe they deserve one. The difference of reversal rates and appeals in the country proves that a defendant may or may not have their decision reversed or lessened because of where their case takes place. Another point that was made in the "Struck by lightning" report is that, "Eight-two percent of the country's executions occur in the South"(Dieter). While I do understand that there are thirty-one states that currently have the death penalty and that may cause some of the demographics to be skewed, the fact that over three quarters of all executions happen in the south helps to demonstrate how unequally the death penalty is enforced throughout the country.  If every defendant is not given an equal chance to have his or her decision reversed, then it is unconscionable to continue the death penalty's use.  

I cannot stress enough the importance that every defendant receive a fair trial, which is why one of the most problematic uses of the death penalty is the role that race may play in a jury's decision regarding whether or not the defendant will be sentenced to death. Michael L. Radelet and Marian J. Borg co-wrote "The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates" to explain how the argument surrounding the death penalty has changed over the years. The article references a Supreme Court case, McCleskey v Kemp, David Baldus was a professor of law at the University of Iowa and he and his colleagues performed a study in Gerogia in the 1970s and 1980s. The study controlled for 230 variables and found that the odds of a death sentence for defendants who kill whites in Georgia is 4.3 times more likely to receive a death sentence than for those who kill blacks. A Georgia death row inmate named Warren McCleskey and his attorneys claimed that this showed unfair racial bias in the administration of the death penalty in Georgia and they took their evidence to the Supreme Court in McCleskey v. Kemp in 1987. The Supreme Court ruled that statistical pattern did not prove any bias in McCleskey's individual case (Borg and Radelet). The court ruled that evidence of racial discrimination in capital sentencing did not violate the Eighth or Fourteenth amendment (McLaughlin). Since we are unable to predict or account for the jury's bias or the court's bias regarding race, the death penalty should no longer be used and should be replaced with life without parole. 

One of the largest misconceptions the public makes regarding capital punishment is that costs of life imprisonment is less than executing a defendant. Jolie McLaughlin wrote a paper for the Northwestern University School of Law and draws attention to the fact that anti-death penalty supporters have been using cost as a way to gain support from legislators. She cites an example to support her claim, "The Dallas Morning news reported in 1992 that the trials and appeals of a capital case alone cost Texas $2.3 million per case on average which was approximately three times the cost of imprisoning someone for forty years"(McLaughlin).  A key detail to point out is, what accounts for the increased price of the death penalty is not carrying out the execution itself, but the cost of a capital punishment prosecution in terms of trials and appeals. Although these studies are older, newer ones do back up these claims. A Time magazine article reports that a study done at Duke University found that North Carolina could save $11 million per year by foregoing the use of the death penalty (Drehle). The majority of studies demonstrate that states would spend less money if they imposed life sentences without parole instead of the death penalty (McLaughlin). Although I dispute the idea that the criminal justice system should forego the death penalty just to save money, given the fact that it costs more for a death penalty case than for an inmate to be put on life without parole, capital punishment should no longer be an option in our criminal justice system. 

During the 1980's and 1990's there was a high level of public support for the use of the death penalty, but as time moved on and several states abolished its use, the support for that opinion has declined. According to the 2015-year end report from The Death Penalty Information Center, a Gallup pole and the Pew Research Center both say between 56 and 61 percent of responders support the death penalty. Although this number is still above fifty percent, those numbers are at an all time low when compared to the last forty years and the support is almost twenty points below that of the 1980s and 1990s (2015 Year End Report). The public believes the arbitrariness of the death penalty to be an issue in deciding whether or not to support it. In his report, Richard Dieter notes a 2010 survey of registered voters reported that respondents rated unfairness as a top reason to use life without parole instead of the death penalty (Dieter). In regards to unfairness, in the past many people have disputed that capital punishment defendants do not receive proper legal representation during the trial and appeals process. Even those who argue for the continuation of the death penalty agree on this point. John C. Kissinger Jr. has worked as a prosecution attorney and is also a judge in the Cheshire County Superior Court, he supports the death penalty but says, "To make sure the application of the statute is as fair as possible, the state must also continue to provide the resources necessary to ensure that all defendants faced with a capital crime are provided highly competent and trained defense counsel" ("Capital Punishment Should Be Maintained"). Unfairness is one of the most problematic issues for the public in regards to the death penalty and over time, the support for the death penalty has fallen amongst the American public. 

Public support for the death penalty is not the only statistic that has fallen, execution rates, death sentences and states employing the death penalty have also fallen in numbers. One of the shifts may be caused by the fact that juries are able to opt for a sentence of life without parole. In an article in The Economist entitled, "The slow death of the death penalty", the article points out that now every state with the exception of Alaska affords juries the option of life without parole. This provides juries with the ability to ensure a murderer will never be released without having to execute them (The Economist). As I mentioned, execution rates are also dropping, the 2015 year end report, "18 death penalty states imposed no death sentences in 2015, including 3-Georgia, Missouri, and Virginia-that conducted executions"(2015 Year End Report). The dwindling number of states that use the death penalty is yet another reason for why it should not continue. If this trend continues, eventually it will be completely abolished in the U.S., so we should abolish it now and invoke life without parole and spare the lives of those awaiting execution on death row.

Although the criminal justice system is prone to make mistakes, gambling someone's life is too big of a risk. It is inevitable that sometimes the prosecution or the jury may convict the wrong person of committing a crime and in most cases they remedy their incorrect decision by freeing the person from confinement or the sanctions they chose to impose. However, with the death penalty once a defendant has been executed if they are later found to be innocent there is no way to correct the mistake. David Von Drehle is an editor at large for Time magazine and wrote an article focusing the debate of the death penalty. In it he gives an example from a Texas case, inadequate investigators who used discredited science put two men on death row in Texas on charges for alleged arson murders. One of the defendants named Ernest Willis was released in 2004 when his lawyers compiled a review conducted by a fire scientist who concluded that the fire was not the cause of either of the suspects. Unfortunately for the other suspect, Cameron Todd who had already been executed, this information was discovered too late, which means that Texas may have killed an innocent man. In this case, the court of Texas has no way to rectify their actions aside from apologizing to the defendant's family. The Death Penalty Information Center released a report detailing death penalty statistics for the year 2015 and this year, "Six more people who had been on death row were exonerated of all charges, bringing to 156 the number of death-sentenced men and women exonerated since 1973" (2015 Year end report). Although the fact that these men and women were released before execution is encouraging, nevertheless, if the mistake had not been discovered the result may have been another instance where an innocent person was executed. The unequal use of the death penalty is problematic in the court system but the fact that if a mistake is mad someone will be killed poses too high of a risk, which is why the death penalty should be banned. 

Overtime the way in which executions are conducted has changed and the most commonly used method today is lethal injection. Although this was thought to be a more humane way to execute death row inmates, as with all the other methods of execution, some problems have arisen that call into question that notion. In 1977 an Oklahoma medical examiner, Jay Chapman comprised a three-drug combination for executions, the first drug administered was typically sodium thiopental which was a way to anesthetize the defendant being executed. The second drug used was pancuronium bromide, which would cause paralysis of the muscles and respiration; the third drug was potassium chloride to help stop the heart. The pancruonium brimade helped to conceal any signs of what was happening with the prisoner's bodies. The problem with this use of the paralytic was if the anesthetic didn't work the prisoner would still experience pain but due to the paralysis they would often be unable to tell anyone their pain and they would suffocate and enter cardiac arrest. As time has continued, the use of pancuronium bromide is now being debated because many believe it only serves the purpose to make the execution appear more "pleasant"(Segura).  A Huffington Post article quotes Teresa Zimmers who is a molecular biologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine who said in regards to lethal injection "Part of the paradox is that it looks like a medical procedure but it hasn't been rigorously tested". She elaborates in regards to the testing that hasn't been conducted, "There are no controlled trials, analysis or peer review of the processes to determine whether it works the way it's been said to work" (Lavender and Wing). In one execution that occurred in Oklahoma in January of 2014 the prisoner, Michael Lee Wilson, said to prison officials, "I feel my whole body burning" (Lavender and Wing). There have been multiple occurrences of inmates still being able to feel pain during executions using lethal injection which proves that although it may seem painless, that may not be the case. Another problem with lethal injection is in 2011 the primary American manufacturer of the anesthetic most commonly used, sodium thiopental, said they would no longer produce it. Also, European producers are prohibited from exporting the drug to the U.S. for the purpose of executions. The Huffington Post reported that the price of execution drugs was roughly $1,300 which was fifteen times higher in 2012 when compared with 2011, which once again adds to the overall cost of the death penalty (Lavender and Wing). With the lack of availability of the particular drug, many states have resorted to other, sometimes unapproved or unregulated drug combinations to carry out executions. The difficulty in carrying out executions without complications is becoming yet another reason why death penalty support is decreasing throughout the country and why it is unfair to continue using it as a form of punishment. 

The arbitrariness and legality issues that arise from the death penalty, along with the problems of finding a humane solution for executions are only some of the many reasons why the death penalty needs to be abolished. The public support for the death penalty has continuously fallen over the past twenty to thirty years and will continue to fall as peoples realize that it's cruel and outdated nature has no place in our modern criminal justice system. The public needs to advocate for life without parole in replace of the death penalty, if this does not occur, defendants will continue to fall victim to an unjust system and in certain cases an innocent person will be executed for a crime they did not commit, the only way to prevent this from happening is for people to oppose capital punishment.

