Should the U.S. Abolish the Death Penalty?

• “Yes”

  

  “The Death Penalty Makes Too Many Mistakes”

• “Objection”

  

  “Innocence on Death Row Rarer than Rabies”
  

Innocence on Death Row Rarer than Rabies

Joshua Marquis

District Attorney, Media Commentator

Expert Verified | See Profile

Recommend (1) Comments (2)

In discussing capital punishment, words matter.

But the idea that death row is "riddled" with innocents is ridiculous.

There is not a single case in the modern era of capital punishment (since 1976) where a person executed has turned out to be factually innocent. There have been 5 people freed from death row because of DNA evidence and 9 more who had ALREADY had their death sentence removed who were later cleared by DNA. Of the approximately 10,000 sentenced to death in the U.S. since 1976 perhaps 30 of them were actually innocent. 

The larger question is how many innocent people will die because we fail to incarerate or execute killers. Cass Sunstein of the University of Chicago Law School - a well known "progressive" - makes the case best in "Is Capital Punishment Morally Required, A Life for Life Trade-off."

Sunstein refers to a series of studies ( http://www.cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DPDeterrence.htm ) that show that failure to condemn killers results in an unacceptable number of new victims.

Evidence

Link

Deterrence studies

Link

Myth of Innocence

Link

WSJ Review of Grisham book

Next Argument

"Yes" Amnesty

• The Death Penalty is a Denial of Human Rights
  7
• The Death Penalty Makes Too Many Mistakes
  9
• The Death Penalty Costs More
  6
• The American Public is Moving Away from the Death Penalty
  5

"No" Josh Marquis

• How Many Innocent Victims are Too Many?
  8
• The Idea that Many People on Death Row are Innocent is Nonsense
  3

"No" Criminal Justice Legal Foundation

• An Enforced Death Penalty Saves Lives Through Deterrence
  3

Most Objections

• The Death Penalty is a Denial of Human Rights
  7
• The Death Penalty Makes Too Many Mistakes
  9
• The Death Penalty Costs More
  6
• The American Public is Moving Away from the Death Penalty
  5
• How Many Innocent Victims are Too Many?
  8
• The Idea that Many People on Death Row are Innocent is Nonsense
  3
• An Enforced Death Penalty Saves Lives Through Deterrence
  3

Should We End Executions?

• Yes
• No

View Results