Death Penalty
If you didn't already know, I am INCREDIBLY passionate and INFORMED about the death penalty and I think that we should ABOLISH the practice all together! Now, everyone is entitled to their opinions but the fact that our Uber DRIVER thought he knew more than me made me laugh. No offense, but I am getting my master's in criminology and have done numerous research papers on the death penalty so if you come at me with these arbitrary facts or try to correct my facts, that's really not going to go over well.
It surprised me that a) he tried to discredit my facts by saying I was over-inflating, and b) was completely misinformed. He tried to convince me that it was cheaper to kill someone than to keep them alive. Now, while maybe people who aren't involved in the criminal justice system may think this, it is 100% false. The fact that people think this makes me cringe and they are part of the problem why this country still puts people to death. Again, I'm really trying not to ding him because he isn't involved in the criminal justice system, but it's something that everyone should be informed on!
So for some reference-putting someone to death is not an easy process. And it shouldn't be! After all, it is someone's life we are talking about. Did you know that it takes an average of 10+ years to actually put someone to death by lethal injection? Did you know that many inmates who are on death row end up dying before they're even put to death? Did you know that the word "closure" was created by the media in order to portray grieving families?
The reason that it costs so much to put someone to death is that there are a ton of legal processes they have to go through. It's not just 1 court hearing and oh--you're dead. In fact, these individuals have to go through super due process. This can take a long time! Hence the average time of over 10 years literally just rotting away in a cell.
Another issue I have with the death penalty? The United States has wrongfully put to death innocent people! I don't understand how we can have such an ultimate punishment when the system is not perfect. That basically means, if you're found guilty and then sentenced to death and you didn't do it, odds are you probably won't be exonerated. In fact, if you're a minority and poor, you most definitely will not get off death row. Like I said before, the US has put to death innocent people. How is that okay? Most of the time the response is an apology to the families of the individual, but even then, you can't bring someone back to life. This is the #1 reason why I don't think we should have the death penalty. At least with life in prison without the possibility of parole, you might be able to prove that you were innocent the entire time. Yes, you probably spent many years locked behind bars even though you did nothing, but at least then you wouldn't be dead. I also think that making people live out their life behind bars in punishment enough. Killing them seems like an easy way out. In prison they have to wake up everyday and be reminded of what they did.
The only think I can think of that would justify the death penalty is revenge and retribution. Yes, many of these people committed heinous crimes. But, will killing them bring back your loved one? The answer is no. The sad fact is that many families follow the entire court hearings for years and when the day comes to put the individual to death, they're left feeling different than they thought they would. They no longer have anything that connects them with their loved one that perished. It's done, it's over with. It can be an extremely abrupt process for families.
Now, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but please please please have an informed opinion! It scares me that people are voting or having an opinion on policies that affects peoples lives, yet they don't know anything about it. A handful of my professors in undergrad also believed in the death penalty. They believed in it solely for the reason for retribution which they made clear to us. They had all of the information that was leaning towards the abolishment of the death penalty but their own opinions triumphed over the facts. Do I wish that they were teaching their students about moving away from the death penalty? Yes. Do I think they're entitled to their own opinion? Yes.
So the take away? I reallllyyyyy wish that people were more informed about the processes of the criminal justice system! It is something that touches a lot of lives and people come into contact with police officers, and court officials on a regular basis. You don't have to be an expert on the topic but just a little reading would allow you to have a little bit more information!
I am incredibly passionate about the criminal justice system! I think there are a lot of issues with the system and that it allows for minorities and poor people to get screwed more often than white rich people. When I enter the field, I hope to help change the criminal justice system so that it is focused more on justice rather than how much money you have or the color of your skin. It's going to be a long road but something that will be so worth it.
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