"The death penalty is no more effective a deterrent than life imprisonment... It is also evident that the burden of capital punishment falls upon the poor, the ignorant and the underprivileged members of society." - United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
No More Killing. Abolish the Death Penalty.
It Does Not Stop Violence.
In the United States, the death penalty is often promoted as a way to deter violence and make society safer. Yet scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that executions deter crime more effectively than alternative sentences.
It's Prone to Discrimination.
Imposition of the death penalty is so riddled with class and race bias that it is used almost exclusively on the poor and people of color.
A recent study of death sentences in Philadelphia found that African-American defendants were almost four times more likely to receive the death penalty than were people of other ethnic origins who committed similar crimes.
Over 80% of people executed since 1976 were convicted of killing white victims, although people of color make up more than half of all homicide victims in the United States.
A defendant who can afford his or her own attorney is much less likely to be sentenced to die. Ninety-five percent of all people sentenced to death could not afford their own attorney.
It's Irreversible.
The death penalty legitimizes an irreversible act of violence by the state and has inevitably claimed innocent victims. Since 1973 over 100 condemned prisoners have been released in the U.S. due to credible claims of innocence. Because human justice remains fallible, the risk of executing the innocent will never be eliminated.
It's Not a Solution.
The death penalty only serves to create more victims and perpetuate a cycle of violence. If we truly believe that killing is wrong, we must abolish the death penalty.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/
