The Death Penalty Persuasive Essay

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The Death Penalty has been a part of human society and its legal system for centuries, regarded as a necessary defense to dangerous crimes and a way to liberate the community from dangerous criminals. However, later on this type of punishment came to be regarded as a crime against humanistic ideals by many, and its validity in the legal system has been questioned. Today, the debate rages on. There have been at least 349 people wrongly convicted of crimes punishable by death since 1900. How can any human being allow themselves to impose a punishment that is so indecent? The Death Penalty is not an effective way to abolish crime. The Death Penalty is cold-hearted and brutal. Donald Eugene Harding was executed in a gas chamber in the state of Arizona on April 6th, 1992. Cameron Harper (a reporter for KTVK-TV) said, "I watched Harding go into violent spasms for 57 seconds." Harper continued, "Then he began to convulse less frequently. His back muscles rippled. His head went down in little jerking motions. The spasms grew less violent. I timed them as ending six minutes and 37 seconds after they began. Obviously, the gentleman was suffering. This was a violent death, make no mistake about it. It was an ugly event. We put animals to death more humanely. This was not a clean and simple death." Another reporter, Carla McClain said, "Harding's death was extremely violent. He was in great pain. I heard him gasp and moan. I saw his body turn from red to purple." There are over twenty cases similar to this one that clearly show how an idea that may seem humane in theory can turn into torture in reality. Execution is cruel, especially in situations where suspects are wrongly convicted. Killing a guilty man is horrible but killing an innocent one is much worse. "No matter how careful courts are, the possibility of perjured testimony, mistaken honest testimony and

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