100 word response 1 reference/intext citation Due 2/9/2024
Arias
Capital punishment is a controversial aspect of the justice system globally. This is because it involves taking the life of an individual found guilty. The death penalty requires very serious reforms to ensure justice is achieved and to prevent the killing of many innocent people. The first step is to limit the death penalty to only the criminals who commit the worst crimes, like cold-blood murder. Setting up strict requirements for determining the actual offenders should be done. The courts should work with DNA evidence and exhaust all the witnesses to avoid killing innocent individuals.
Second, measures must be taken to quicken the death penalty cases to save the involved parties the emotional torture and financial burden. This is only human because knowing that death is what awaits an individual is humanly difficult for the criminals and their families. The steps can include enabling easy and fast appeal and giving the defense lawyers a good environment to exhaust all the possibilities of innocence.
Also, it is essential to solve the inequalities within racial and economic lines in the capital punishment system. Research shows that the poor and minor races, like the blacks in the U.S., are more victims of the death penalty (Bing et al., 2022). Serious reforms need to ensure justice and equality. For example, more people should be able to get good legal help, and racial bias should not be used to choose jurors.
The people on death row waiting for their appeals to be heard should be treated as humans. Inmates can suffer a lot of mental harm from being locked up alone, not having easy access to mental health services, and not knowing how long the court process will take. To protect people’s dignity and stop needless suffering, it is essential to set rules for better treatment that include giving people access to mental health services, educational programs, and regular touch with loved ones.
Reforming the capital punishment system needs a complex technique that considers fairness, efficiency, and humanity issues. Meaningful steps can be made toward a more fair and just justice system by limiting who can be charged, speeding up cases, addressing inequalities, and ensuring that prisoners are treated humanely.
