Sample Opinion Editorial

By: Zoe Flores

A compassionate society does not impose death on its citizens---even for its worst members. This belief is widespread in our nation; although most states have the death penalty, few utilize it. Some states have abolished the death penalty altogether. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, death sentences have steadily decreased by 29% since 2000. The death sentence is steadily losing its popularity, so why is there a need to keep it?

The death penalty is a harsh sentence when there is guilt; it is immoral when the accused is innocent. Since 1973, at least 186 people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the US have been exonerated. These are 186 souls that did not deserve to be executed. In 2015, Brian Terrell was executed by the state of Georgia after being on Death Row since 1995. There was no physical evidence linking Terrell to the murder. His lawyers argued that his conviction and death sentence were the product of prosecutorial misconduct and a false and misleading testimony. As he died, he mouthed the words, “I didn’t do it.”

There is a racial bias present in the justice system that becomes evident in Death Row sentences. In the recent census, people of color only made up 23.7% of the United States population. Disproportionately, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, 43% of executions since 1976 have been for people of color and, 55% of those awaiting execution are people of color as well. Furthermore, a 2015 analysis of thirty separate studies revealed murders of white people were more likely to face capital prosecution than murders of African Americans. Clearly it is not fair for a defendant to be at higher risk of execution solely because of the color of his or her skin.

Violence does nothing to prevent violence. The United Nations has pointed out there is no conclusive evidence the death penalty deters crime. A nationwide survey of police chiefs found

that the death penalty was among the lowest way to reduce violent crimes. The real solution is increasing police officers, reducing drug abuse, and creating a better economy with more jobs. Money spent on funding the death penalty could be used towards these programs.

In the state of Georgia, the decision to seek the death penalty costs the state more than three million dollars. Pursuing the death penalty in court can cost taxpayers twice as much as sentencing one to life in prison. Money spent on executions could be spent on programs to prevent violent crimes in the first place.

As citizens, you should advocate for representatives on both the state and federal level to push for the abolition of the death penalty. As lawmakers, it is our moral duty to advocate for and pass legislation that would abolish the death penalty.

The death penalty has proven itself to be a flawed punishment. For that reason, no human being has the right to play God. It is morally wrong for courts to have the right to decide if another human has the right to live. Killing is murder, even if it is imposed by the government.

Reverend Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from the state of Georgia.

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Why I wrote this story:

In the fall of 2021, I took Introduction to Public Affairs Communication. Our final assignment was to write an Opinion Editorial from the point-of-view of a politician. I chose to write about the death penalty with Raphael Warnock as the speaker.