Dear Next President,

As a teenage boy, I am concerned about the death penalty being a form of punishment. It is used today and was used in ancient times to punish a variety of offenses. Criminals that convicted the most violent crimes should not be put to death; therefore, it should not be a form of punishment.

Citing a recent study about the death penalty, “Since 1973, over 140 people have been released from death rows in 26 states because of innocence.” This means that the death penalty is killing or about to kill innocent people because they thought they had the right guy. This matter a lot because if you are killing innocent people then you are the one that is committing a crime. If people are dying for crimes they did not commit then the death penalty should be banned for good.

Another recent study about the death penalty claims, “Cases without the death penalty cost 740,000 dollars, while cases where the death penalty cost 1.26 million dollars.”  This means the death penalty is way more expensive than a system handling similar cases. It is financially wasteful. This is important because if this is financially wasteful then it's wasting taxpayers money. We need to limit the number of death penalties and put criminals in prison for life at a lower cost.

On the other hand, some people say the death penalty is an appropriate form of punishment. KQED states, “The death penalty deters future crime.” This means that if you use the death penalty on a criminal and they die, it will prevent them from making another horrible crime again in the future. However, the death penalty still shouldn't be a form of punishment be a form of punishment, because the murder rates are lower than the states with it; Therefore it should not be a form of punishment.

In conclusion, I think the death penalty should not be a form of punishment. Executing criminals that convicted the most violent crimes is not a true way to serve justice; Therefore it is not appropriate. Innocent people are getting killed or about to be, because of the death penalty. It is also financially wasteful. So future president, I want you to make a law stating that the death penalty should not be a form of punishment in the next 4 years.

Sincerely,

Angel R