The Death Penalty: Persuasive Speech | Teen Ink

The Death Penalty: Persuasive Speech

April 10, 2009
By emmaclaire SILVER, Mission Hills, Kansas
emmaclaire SILVER, Mission Hills, Kansas
6 articles 0 photos 6 comments

There are five different forms of execution in the United States: hanging, electrocution, lethal injection, lethal gas, and firing squad. All of these should be illegal. It does not deter crime, it is a crime, and it encourages violence. It is also very expensive. With the United States struggling with the economy, people are now asking, “Is this the way to spend money?” A California state commission reported that its death penalty system costs more than $100 million a year to administer.
First of all, the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. There are still criminals who continue breaking the law. In fact, only twenty percent of United States states show evidence that executions do deter crime. The murder rate in non-death penalty states has actually remained consistently lower than in death penalty states and the gap has grown since 1990. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan says, “It is not denied that many, and probably most capital crimes cannot be deterred by the threat of punishment.” On average, states where capital punishment does seem to deter crime tend to execute many more people than in states where there seems to be no deterrent effect. So, only if a state executes many people does deterrence grow.


Also, the death penalty itself is a crime. The death penalty is murder, and two wrongs don’t make a right. There is no point in murdering people who have committed murder because then no one has been taught a lesson. The U.S. has successfully executed about 700 since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated, and unfortunately, Kansas has been a death penalty state since 1994. There are currently thirty-six states, including Kansas, which allow capital punishment. Others, like Illinois, have slowed or temporarily discontinued the use of capital punishment because of innocent defendants.


Lastly, the death penalty encourages violence. In eighty percent of the United States, murder rates actually increase after executions take place. California has the largest death row in the United States with approximately 650 inmates. Executions lead to a brutalization effect, a climate of violence and killing to avenge grievances. Representative Jack Minor remarks, “The death penalty’s not a deterrent. In fact, the figures would suggest it’s just the opposite.”


At a murder victim’s support group, a large group of approximately 40 people say their names, and the member of their family who was murdered. And last, when they are finished, they announce, “And I oppose the death penalty.” These are the people who have come to realize that by killing a murderer, no lives are being saved, no lives will be returned, and no one is learning a lesson from the execution. It is only revenge, which does no good for anyone. The death penalty is expensive, it is not a deterrent, it is actually a crime because it is murder, and it encourages violence. Therefore, the death penalty should be illegal.

The author's comments:
I have also made up a power point presentation about the death penalty, which I would add to the article, but I'm not sure how, so... yeah.

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This article has 11 comments.


amuserse said...
on Apr. 19 2016 at 4:28 pm
i am doing a essay about this and in the uk 1 in 9 murderers are let out after less than 10 years in prison. also if you look up the james bulger murder in 1993, you'' see that the murderers where let out in 2001 and have had their identities changed which the taxpayers pay for. is this right? of course no

on Feb. 18 2016 at 12:15 pm
I am currently doing my own essay on this subject, and was wondering when your essay was published?

on Sep. 15 2015 at 6:16 pm
SwantonTwist BRONZE, Brookings, South Dakota
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"If you smoke, you die. If you do drugs, you die. If you drink, you die. What does it matter, if in the end we all die anyway?"

Thank you :)

on Feb. 26 2015 at 7:33 am
I couldn't agree more. If they did something like that They deserve it!

on Feb. 26 2015 at 7:31 am
I think the death penalty is a justified punishment. When a criminal does wrong they realize their doing wrong and a few years in prison won't make them feel remorse , if anything they may look to harm more people (if they somehow leave). There's no reason to fill prisons with this type of filth. They don't deserve to live , are a waste of space on this planet and should pay for what they took (another's life). I completely believe in the saying "an eye for an eye" so here "a life for a life"

Justthink123 said...
on Nov. 5 2014 at 12:48 am
Well for me, i do not agree with death penalties, i do not like that they kill people because they did a horrible crime many people get away with much worst crimes and they do not get killed for it but anyways i think it is not a need to kill them because they can just keep them in prison for life instead of killing them why do you have to end their life? There no need to kill them let them stay in prison for life instead of ending someone life give them a chance to live and realize they are wrong and let them understand that they are responsible for what they did and now they have to spend time in prison for what they did!

impede said...
on Mar. 17 2014 at 11:21 am
I do not like this speech. I know that two wrongs make a right, or else two negatives wouldn/t be positivre. 
I also believe if a human did something as horrible enough to be sentenced to capitol punishment, THEY DESERVE IT.

We can preserve the quality of life by getting rid of those who try to crack it in half. So don't say this all over the place because you will find strongly opinionated people who will find holes and will be upset to see you try to xcover them up with eoither little girl makeup or a few wise words of the Oxford Dictionary.
Thankyou and goodluck,

Anon

Coznells said...
on Dec. 17 2013 at 2:16 pm
I've been looking into an essay on the death penalty and stats on wether it deters crime.  Would love to see where the author got her info.  Why aren't there any sources to support her claims? 

SODMG17 said...
on May. 13 2013 at 1:00 am
criminals should be treated the same way they treated their victims of their crimes.

claudia_vina said...
on Sep. 20 2012 at 5:04 pm
When did she upload this like the date?  

on May. 30 2009 at 6:56 am
emmaclaire SILVER, Mission Hills, Kansas
6 articles 0 photos 6 comments
Comments? thought it would be controversial...