Dear Future President,

Capital punishment is a fairly controversial issue, but I think we can all agree on the fact that the criminal must be punished. We just might not all agree on how they must be punished. I believe that capital punishment is wrong, and I intend to prove to you that it is.

We all have people we love and care about. For me, it is my family. I would be devastated if anything happened to anyone in my family, more specifically if someone in my family were killed. We all believe that killing is wrong. But we do not all believe that capital punishment is wrong. Capital punishment is killing. How can you stand by the death penalty but believe the act of killing is wrong? By standing by the death penalty, you are standing by killing. So why are our opinions not all the same when it comes to the death penalty?

Can you imagine what it feels like to lose a loved one? In the US a violent crime occurs every 25.3 seconds. What if that crime involved one of your family members? That would be devastating. What if that violent crime was a murder? No matter who your family member was, the murder or the victim, it would still be devastating. As of now, both these individuals will most likely end up dead because of the death penalty.

I understand, to an extent, the argument of revenge. Some people want revenge on the criminals. But, think about it this way, life in prison is much worse. They will stay in the same area for the rest of their life, with nothing to do and no way to make a life. They are basically dead, but they’re not. That would be torturous. Killing them is the easy way out.

Capital punishment is wrong. There is no excuse to stand by the practice. Killing is wrong, no matter who is doing it and no matter the circumstances. There are other options to punish the criminals, like life in prison. I implore you to think about all the options and to think about what capital punishment really is.

Sincerely,

Adrienne