Since 1608, the first recorded execution in America, the death penalty has been a massive topic in public discourse. It was seen as unconstitutional by some and necessary by others, which led to the idea of the death penalty getting denounced and brought back many times since 1608. It wasn’t until 1976 as a result of the Gregg v. Georgia case that the death penalty was reinstated to its current state. This halted a ten-year pause on executions as on January 17, 1977, Gary Gilmore was executed.

A law professor at Michigan Law, Samuel R. Gross, found that 4.1% of death penalty convictions were and are false. He firmly believes that some innocent people have been executed. 

No matter how necessary the death penalty is thought to be, hundreds of people on death row are innocent. The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person. Is it worth the risk?

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1973, at least 190 people who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the United States have been exonerated; nearly 200 former death-row prisoners acquitted of all charges related to wrongful convictions that put them there.

A common concern among citizens is that the death penalty is essential for ensuring that there is justice for bad people and their actions. Having the death penalty will ensure that people will commit fewer crimes. Death penalty advocates fear that relinquishing the death penalty will weaken the deterrence it has on criminals. 

Former President George W. Bush even argued for the death penalty, saying, “I support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and justly, capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other innocent lives.” 

Most arguments for the death penalty say that it acts as a deterrent, establishes justice, and restores faith in the judicial system. 

However, Michael Radelet, a longtime researcher of death penalty issues and the chairman of the University of Florida’s Sociology Department says, “There is an overwhelming consensus that the death penalty has never been, is not and never could be a deterrent to homicide over and above long imprisonment.” Radelet surveyed current and former presidents of the top three criminology professional organizations and 90 percent agreed with his statement.

The death penalty has its pros for many, providing a safety net for those who worry about criminals and providing justice for friends and families alike. Criminals given the death penalty aren’t given the opportunity, or it isn’t considered that these people may be capable of reforming. Everybody, at some point in their lives, is capable of change. Is it unfathomable that people are capable of change?