Capital punishment is the legal killing of an individual a punishment for a crime they have committed. There are many different types of execution methods such as lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, a firing squad and hanging. The state of Oklahoma was the first state to consider lethal injection as a form of executing someone. With this method, two needles are inserted into the person. The first needle is filled with a saline solution. The second one is sodium thiopental. The person’s muscle system is paralyzed and then potassium chloride stops the heart. These executions are usually performed by people who are inexperienced. In Texas on December 2, 1982 Charles Brooks was the first person to be executed by lethal injection. The …show more content…
Capital punishment is unconstitutional. It violates the “cruel and unusual” punishment law. Executing someone can vary from being quick and being slow and painful. It also sends the wrong message and is hypocritical. You shouldn’t punish someone who killed another person by killing them to show that killing is wrong. Some states are using murder to punish someone who committed murder. We need to move on past the “eye for an eye” mentality. Killing the criminal does not change the fact that the victim is not coming back to life and capital punishment will not cure the hurt that the victim’s family or friends feel. Trying to get back at someone who is your enemy, usually makes the situation worse. Death is also the easy way out for someone who committed a crime. Life in prison is a harsher punishment since the person will be suffering in jail for decades. With capital punishment being legal in some states, this creates a higher chance for an innocent person to be put to death. In 1992, Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted of arson murder in Texas (stories.avvo.com). They believed that he intentionally set a fire that killed his three kids. Unfortunately he was put to death in 2004. According to the website stories.avvo.com, “the Texas Forensic Science Commision later found that the evidence was misinterpreted, and they concluded that none of the evidence used against Willingham was valid.” The fire was actually accidental. Ruben Cantu was just a teen when he was executed in Texas. He was accused of capital murder. Approximately 12 years after he was executed, investigations proved that he didn’t commit the murder. Cantu’s co-defendant admitted to allowing his friend to be wrongly accused and said that Cantu wasn’t there the night the murder