![Mrs. Miller works in the guidance office. With all the many duties of her position she is working as the secretary for the guidance office. "[She] may change every period to a different class," Principal Scott Hinton said.](https://blueacemedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/sub-photo-1200x869.jpg)
BY AVA KUNAR (‘18)
STAFF MEMBER
It is 2016, and it baffles me that murder is still legal in the U.S under specific circumstances. Whether someone is unborn or a murderer, no human has the right to deem said person’s life worthy of ending. There are many flaws in our justice system, one of them being the legality of capital punishment. Capital punishment simply defies the 8th amendment, and should be illegal in all states. Not only does the death penalty contradict our constitution, but it is a crime against humanity.
Since the beginning of time, or even as far back as the publication of The Holy Bible, homicide has been seen as immoral. Not only is it immoral, but Ohio recently butchered a lethal injection, causing a man to suffer through his death. This paused all death sentences until 2017 in Ohio. The first planned execution of 2017 is scheduled for January 12. Another fact that should be taken into consideration when discussing capital punishment is that roughly 70 people have been released from death row since the 70s after being found innocent (even though they were mistakenly found guilty before). Because humans are imperfect, the possibility that an innocent person can be sentenced to death is probable. This should be enough of a reason to ban capital punishment completely.
The argument that the the death penalty protects humans because it kills off dangerous people who could continue to commit murder is faulty because life without parole is always an option for convicts. Some people argue that the sentence of life without parole is too expensive for the U.S Government to afford, and is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars. What these people fail to understand is that it is more expensive to place a convict on death row than to house and feed him for the rest of his life for many reasons, the main one being the cost of court proceedings.
Not only is capital punishment inhumane, but unnecessary. It should be illegal in all 50 states, and frankly the entire world. This is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue. If you want to know what you specifically can do to help, visit http://www.ncadp.org/. Help put an end to this injustice.
