This analysis of capital punishment describes the fundamental problems with the death penalty and common misconceptions that underlie current support for it and concludes that the more educated the public becomes about capital punishment, the more the public will oppose it.
Capital punishment entails several social costs. The current system does not rationally select those who will die. In addition, overzealous prosecutors improperly seek and obtain death sentences. Moreover, ineffective defense renders capital trials unfair. Furthermore, the jury selection process fails to ensure unbiased juries. Capital punishment is also racially discriminatory and kills the retarded and the innocent while failing to deter crime or to provide additional incapacitation. It also compounds the problems of victims' families, diverts much-needed resources away from measures that would aid law enforcement, and isolates the United States from virtually all democratic countries. Finally, the Old and New Testaments have been grossly distorted as a purported justification for the death penalty. Therefore, capital punishment should be completely abolished. Footnotes