Murder Is Wrong so is the Death Penalty. Abolish it! | Teen Ink

Murder Is Wrong so is the Death Penalty. Abolish it!

December 19, 2013
By NaaThompson GOLD, Allston, Massachusetts
NaaThompson GOLD, Allston, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 74 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you don't like someone's story, write your own. -Chinua Achebe


Many people believe the death penalty should not be abolished because it is way of getting rid of society’s most dangerous criminals and that it is a form of revenge for the family of victims of crimes like murder. But that notion is just wrong because sentencing criminals to death doesn’t deter other criminals from committing the same crime. Rather it is a motivation because they know they are not going to face the maximum punishment for their crimes. They know they are not going spend the rest of their lives in a nasty jailhouse paying for the crimes they committed; to them death is an easy way out. That is why most people who go on shooting rampages kill themselves before the police get to them. An example is Adam Lanza from the Newtown school shooting and Aaron Alexis from the navy yard shooting in Washington.

I believe the death penalty is extremely wrong and inhumane; it is murder disguised as punishment. If murder is wrong then why does the federal government kill people who commit murder. What is the difference between someone who commits murder and someone who punishes that person by killing that person. People need to realise that the death penalty is the government’s way of taking the lives of people without facing punishment. Let’s look at this possible scenario: if my friend was murdered and I found out who did it and kill that person as form of revenge, I could face a possible death penalty for saving the government some money and time by killing that person myself. How does that make sense?

Another argument people usually make for the death penalty is that it eradicates the danger murderers pose to the society but that is actually far from the truth because criminals like rapists and armed robbers also pose a significant amount of threat to the society. Rapists pose a significant amount of threat to the society because they could turn into murderers but they are the criminals that are often left roaming the streets. A rapists can be sentenced to ten years to prison and when they return from prison they usually go back to the streets and do the same thing; sometimes they even take the lives of their victims because they know their victims could identify them. This is the same with armed robbers, they usually murder victims they feel could identify them. When criminals come out of jail, most of them are even more angrier and commit worse crimes than what sent them to jail. The death penalty is not really the shortcut to keeping our streets safe.

I believe the death penalty should be abolished because it is inhumane. Instead of sentencing people to death, the government should sentence dangerous criminals to life imprisonment with hard labor so that they are working to support the economy not take away from it and at the same time paying for their crimes.



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This article has 4 comments.


on Jan. 24 2014 at 10:10 am
NaaThompson GOLD, Allston, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 74 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you don't like someone's story, write your own. -Chinua Achebe

Thank you :)

on Jan. 22 2014 at 5:36 pm
theblondechick GOLD, Kingsport, Tennessee
14 articles 0 photos 104 comments

Favorite Quote:
I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life.
And I am horribly limited.
-Sylvia Path

I believe that you really portrayed your opinions really well. I can tell your very passionate about the topic. It was really put across through your word choice. Good job

on Jan. 15 2014 at 9:15 am
NaaThompson GOLD, Allston, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 74 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you don't like someone's story, write your own. -Chinua Achebe

Thanks for the feedback

on Jan. 13 2014 at 4:29 pm
RoyalCorona SILVER, Grand Rapids, Michigan
7 articles 0 photos 290 comments

Favorite Quote:
All of us fave failed to match our dream of perfection. I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible. -William Faulkner

I do not agree with your opinion but I did find this article very interesting and captivating! One thing that I will point out is that in the second paragraph, there are some sentences that should be using question marks instead of periods. Other than that, great job! Also, I found your idea about hard labor in the final paragraph actually pretty interesting!