Death Penalty Needs Executed

The death penalty needs to die. Forever. No clemency for it. No resurrection like 35 years ago when the US Supreme Court reinstituted it. By the way, it was struck down in 1972 because it was not being applied fairly, uniformly, arbitrarily and in a discriminating manner. I'd say it's 1972 all over again. The execution last week of Troy Davis illustrates all that is wrong with this medieval holdover. 7 of the 9 state's witnesses recanted their testimony. No biggie. He was put to death anyway. Corroborating evidence? Nope. It was a 100% eyewitness testimony case. How unreliable is eyewitness testimony? It is one of the fastest growing areas of criminal justice research.

Minorities and the poor fill most of our criminal courts, jails, prisons and death row. It stands to reason that most of the folks being put to death are poor or a minority. Killing the poor just smacks of "vigilante values". Factor in race and you have an even bleaker picture.

How about politics? 66% of all death penalty cases come from just 5 southern states! Texas? It has an express lane.

What about convicting the innocent? Never happens? Well, we know of 17 men freed from death row based on DNA evidence since the death penalty was revived.

Isn't it cheaper to put someone to death than house them the rest of the natural lives? Not even close. By the time a trial and all the mandatory appeals are done plus the extra costs associated with a death penalty case, it costs over $5 million to execute someone.

The death penalty is immoral, applied primarily in blood thirsty states like Texas, and has no deterrent effect.