Walker 1 Does executing murderers really stop violent crime in the U.S.? Our government seems to think so. In many states the death penalty still exists or is being reinstated. Many people contend that the death penalty should be used in cases of heinous crime where guilt is obvious. Bill Clinton signed a bill adding 58 more crimes that are punishable by death. For example, if you see a murder or know of one and do not report it, you could be executed. If you know a gang killing, you could report it and be killed in a revenge, or you could remain silent and let the government kill you. Is this justice? (Biringer 1) It has been statistically proven that the death penalty doesnt deter crime. In 1982, Texas reinstated the death penalty. From 1982 to 1991 the national crime rate increased five percent, while Texas crime rate rose by twenty-four percent. Their violent crime rate rose by fourty-six percent (Hughes). Obviously killing criminals did nothing to curb crime. Races are targeted by the death penalty. Killers of whites are 4.3 times more likely to be executed than killers of blacks. In total, 18,000 people have been executed in the United States, only thirty-one involved a white person killing a black person. Is justice truly color blind? (Vandeberg 2) The death penalty is a convenient and easy answer that may appeal to some but which,unfortunately, fails to tackle the problems its supposed to solve, There is always the one problem that executionists face; the risk of executing the innocent. In the United States, where one of the fairest judicial Walker 2systems exists, 350 people were wrongly convicted of capital crimes between 1900 and 1985. Over half the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law and practice. In the United States there are still at least thi...
