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Reasons Against Capital Punishment

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Capital Punishment
Imagine being falsely accused of a crime and being sentenced to death. This is the reality for many people on death row and one of many reasons why the death penalty need to be abolished in the criminal justice system. The death penalty is and has always been a controversial topic. It is applicable only to capital crimes such as homicide, various forms of sexual assault, etc. The death penalty is wrong because states do not comply with the standards that have been set that keep the death penalty from being cruel and unusual. Cruel and unusual punishment is unconstitutional via the eighth amendment and states experimentation with secret new drugs has caused execution to become torturous. The second reason why the death penalty needs to be abolished is that capital punishment is a very large expenditure and wastes resources. Capital punishment is very expensive in …show more content…

Cruel and unusual punishment is unconstitutional. The constitution granted the american people basic rights and protections the eighth amendment is one of them. The eighth amendment bans all methods of punishment that may be considered cruel and unusual. The constitution is not flexible and demands zero errors. States are breaking this constitutional right by using experimental drugs that have led to botched executions. May states keep the source and the contents of their death penalty drugs a secret and this practice needs to be questioned (2). The case of Clayton Lockett is an example in which the death penalty has turned to be cruel and unusual punishment (2). Clayton Lockett was administered his drug and he failed to die after 10 minutes (2). Clayton died of a heart attack that followed 30 minutes afterward that was triggered by the experimental secret death penalty drug (2). Clayton is one of few examples where the death penalty turned cruel and

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