The death penalty is a terrible thing that should be abolished. Putting someone to death, no matter the crime, is a bad idea. Too many people have been wrongfully put on death row, so I don’t trust the government enough to decide who gets put to death for their crime.

There is a risk that the person on death row could be innocent. Since 1973, more than 190 people on death row have been exonerated and an estimated 4% of people that have been sentenced to death have been found to be innocent in the U.S., according to the Innocence project.

The death penalty also has a history of racial discrepancy and disproportionately affects the Black community and other people of color. Since 1977, 295 Black defendants have been executed for killing a white victim, while only 21 white defendants were executed for killing a Black victim, despite the fact that Black people are disproportionately the victims of crime, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

There is also a huge financial cost with the death penalty. A study done by the Nevada legislature, which counted case costs of death penalty through execution, found that the median death penalty case costs $1.26 million. 

The Idea of an eye for an eye to seek justice for those who wronged you is a concept we can’t promote. Taking the life of a murderer or anyone on death row is inhumane and doesn’t solve the underlying problems of stopping crime.

Alternatives to the death penalty should focus on rehabilitative justice, so that these crimes do not happen again, or life imprisonment. It’s dystopian to think that the government has the power to decide if you get to live or die. Even if you did commit a crime that’s “worthy” of the death penalty, it still isn’t right.