Hello everyone, today I would like to address the issue of capital punishment. Do you believe in the death penalty? If so why? Did you know that most of the people on death row are poor people and minorities? I disagree with the death penalty because I feel that it is a contradiction for the states to kill someone for committing murder. We do not have the right to decide who gets to live or die. Also did you know that from 1978-2009 there where over 208 inmates exonerated from death row due to DNA. That being said, we have to think about those who were wrongfully executed before DNA was able to prove their innocence or cases where there was no DNA left at the scene. The government will tell you that capital punishment is a crime deterrent. However, this is false because most of the states with the death penalty have the highest murder rates. The criminal justice system is racially biased. In a majority of the death penalty cases blacks and other minorities are on death row for killing white victims. However, you will seldom find cases where whites are on death row for killing a minority. Also there is evidence of prosecution misconduct in many cases. Eye witness testimony which is the determining factor in most death penalty cases, such as the infamous Troy Davis case, are 75% inaccurate. This means that inevitably innocent people are being lead to their deaths. The methods of execution also violate the constitution, the 8th Amendment which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Further, it cost more to house an inmate on death row than it does for a life sentence. Now you may ask how is this possible? Well first of all it cost the state roughly over $650,000 dollars to try a death penalty case. California alone has $925 million in Automatic Appeals and State Habeas Corpus Petitions as of 2012(Death Penalty Information Center, 2014). The numerous appeals granted to death row inmates is costly. Also inmates on death row are not executed directly after sentencing and often linger on death row for at least 10-20 years awaiting execution. Now ask yourself in 20 years will you still be the same person you are today? Are you the same person today that you were 10 or 20 years ago? At the risk of innocent people being executed, the racial bias within the system, along with the fact that it is morally wrong the death penalty should be abolished. Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic whether you agree or disagree with me. Also post a comment if you have a topic that you would like for me to discuss. As always have a blessed and prosperous day and remember to keep God first in your life.