“Is the Death Penalty Just and Applied Fairly?”

Quienterius Spikes

PHI 103 Informal Logic

Instructor: Bradley Thames

Date: December 22, 2013

Introduction

In this world some crimes are committed with no remorse making bystanders that have no knowledge of the particular case want that person to be punished. In a lot of states major offenses or capital punishment is being performed to those individuals that the judge or juror may feel that they can’t follow the laws of the land if giving a second chance. In some cases capital punishment or the death penalty is being taking advantage of and not being properly justified for the punishment leaving the question in the minds of certain people around the world, “is the death penalty just and applied fairly?”
Body
In this world today with all of the crimes going on around the world and with so many repeat offenders going to jail and getting out of jail doing the same thing, makes some people feel that the death penalty may be just. I believe that a lot of people like the jurors or the judge makes decisions for the death penalty to be handed down not thinking about the possibility of the human being innocent. In today’s world I believe that we need to be careful of who we give power to because some people make decisions based off other peoples beliefs or their own personal past experiences. I wonder how the judge or the jurors feel if they help past death penalty punishment to an innocent punishment. “Kerry Max Cook is a former death-row inmate who was wrongly convicted for the rape and death of 21-year old Linda Jo Edwards in 1977. In 1972, he moved to Texas with his family. Kerry Max Cook served over 20 years in a Texas prison on death row. Since his release, Cook has become an activist against the death penalty speaking across the United States and in Europe. In addition to this, Kerry Max Cook has become a teacher, a role and a leader for his kids across the world teaching overcoming adversity.”(Wikipedia.org/Kerry Max Cook) I believe that this is a good example that a death penalty sentence can be overturned. “Donald Manuel Paradis walked out of a courtroom in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho on Tuesday, a free man for the first time in 21 years. Fourteen of those years were spent on death row. Idaho officials tried as hard as they could to execute him but they failed, which was a good thing. Because once again it turns out that the condemned man had not killed anyone.”(nytimes.com) I believe this is another good example of the death penalty getting overturned because it was proven that Paradis was innocent. I believe that if we had the technology back then as we have here today then he would have never had to serve a day in prison. “Everyone has an opinion about the death penalty. Theoretically (and abstractly) I have always been opposed to it, for the usual reasons: there are too many mistakes for such a permanent solution; there are too many racial IQ and class inequities; there is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty deters violent crime and there is a good bit of evidence that it is violent crime. Also, it seems to me as a Christian that it contradicts the gospel call for forgiveness and truncates the possibility of transformation.”(The Christian Century. Oct 3 2006, Vol. 123 Issue 20, p30, 4p) Some Christians do believe that killing people is a sin and that we all have to give account for what we do here on earth even if we are just the decision maker we still played a part in it. “In the holy bible Saul approved the stoning of Stephen because of Stephen’s speech they were angry and furious and the council members covered their ears and dragged Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death.”(Holy Bible Acts 7:54-59) I believe that this is an example of abuse of power that some people may not agree with because of their own personal hatred against god and his holy word. I believe that even though god allowed these acts to take place in