Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

Earlier this year, convicted murderer TaiChin Preyor ate his last meal and said his final words. Then he was injected with lethal drugs. Within minutes, his heart stopped.

Preyor was executed in Texas for ­killing a woman in 2004. His was the 16th execution in the United States this year. In total, more than 1,450 people have been put to death nationwide since 1976.

While that may seem like a lot, the rate of executions has actually dropped in recent years, in part because U.S. Supreme Court rulings have limited the use of the death penalty, also known as capital punishment. The Court has ruled that mentally disabled defendants and people who ­committed crimes as minors can’t be sentenced to death.

Some people say it’s time for the U.S. to get rid of the death penalty. They argue that it violates the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which p­rohibits “cruel and unusual” ­punishment.

Other people, however, argue that the death penalty discourages would-be criminals and ensures that the worst ­offenders never get the chance to leave prison and commit more crimes.

Should we get rid of the death penalty? Two experts weigh in.

When the United States was founded, capital punishment was common in the 13 American colonies, as well as across Europe. Today it’s becoming increasingly rare.

More than two-thirds of the world’s countries, including almost all of Europe, have abolished the death penalty. This trend can be seen in the U.S. as well. Twenty people were executed in 2016, compared with 98 in 1999. The decline reflects a growing discomfort with capital punishment.

According to some polls, less than half of Americans favor the death penalty. Since 2007, capital punishment has been eliminated in 6 states, leaving 31 states that have the death penalty. Not to mention, actual use of the death penalty is increasingly limited to a small part of the nation: Five states—Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas—carried out 90 percent of America’s executions in the past three years.  

We all benefit from a criminal justice system that creates a safer society with less crime. But that’s not what the death penalty is doing. Murder rates are lowest in the Northeast—the region with the fewest executions. The South, on the other hand, carries out the most executions and has high murder rates. 

Finally, the criminal justice system is subject to human error and discrimination. Since 1976, at least 159 people have been freed from death row after proving their innocence. Plus, death sentences are more likely to be handed down if the victim is white or if the defendant is poor or African-American. 

There are better ways to keep our communities safe, such as teaching conflict resolution in schools and investing in education and jobs. It’s time for the U.S. to abandon this outdated form of punishment.

—DIANN RUST-TIERNEY
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Capital punishment is an extreme measure that is properly reserved for the 

worst of the worst. That includes terrorists and mass murderers like Dylann Roof, the white man who was sentenced to death earlier this year for killing nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

Several studies have shown that the death penalty discourages people from committing crimes. Research has also shown a link between increased executions and reduced murder rates.

Opponents of capital punishment often claim that there are innocent people on death row. While that may be true, it has not been proved that even a single innocent person has ever been executed. That’s partly because in every state with capital punishment, convicted murderers automatically go through a series of appeals that results in an average 12-year delay between sentencing and execution. Beyond that, DNA testing can now establish with near certainty whether an individual is, in fact, the killer.

On the other hand, hundreds of innocent victims have died because we allowed convicted murderers to get out of prison and kill again.

According to Gallup polls, 60 percent of Americans support the death penalty for convicted murderers. Last November, voters in California and Nebraska rejected ballot measures that would have abolished capital punishment in their states.

If we can establish that a killer is guilty and has a track record that suggests he will kill again, what do we say to his future victims if we allow him to live? We need capital punishment for those rare cases in which a killer is beyond saving.

—JOSHUA MARQUIS
District Attorney, Clatsop County, Oregon