There are an uncertain numerous amount of incidents similar to the one depicted above, that have repeatedly occurred throughout the course of history. Two highly distinguishable figures in the area of capital punishment in the United States, Hugo Bedau and Michael Radelet, discovered in 1992, at least 140 cases, since 1990, in which innocent persons were sentenced to death (Hook and Kahn 92). In Illinois alone, 12 death row inmates have been cleared and freed since 1987 (Execution Reconsidered). The most conclusive evidence in support of this "comes from the surprisingly large numbers of people whose convictions have been overturned and who have been freed from death" (Bedau 345). One out of every seven people sentenced to death row are innocent (Civiletti). That's nearly 15%.

The numbers are disturbing. Innocent people

Despite the detrimental errors of the U.S. justice system, the death penalty remains in effect and is costing citizens hundreds of millions of dollars. California has undergone an economic recession and many social programs have had to be cut, but the state "continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the death penalty" (Bedau 408). And between 1977 and 1995, 18 years, California has experienced two executions by lethal injection (United States Department of Justice 16). How much longer will the death penalty be enforced before the federal and state governments realize that it is becoming "unmanageably expensive" to fund capital cases (Bedau 409)? Financial resources in the U.S. are becoming more and more limited and sparse, yet state governments continue to uphold death cases at the request of politicians' " get tough" proposals. But politicians neglect to recognize the exorbitant amount of money that the death penalty is costing taxpayers (Bedau 405). With more death row inmates than any other state, Texas is experiencing the financial burden of the death penalty, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone at the highest security level in a single cell for 40 years (Bedau 402). Though some authorities are recognizing that the money used for the death penalty trials " could be better used for additional penitentiary space, rehabilitation efforts, education, and to devote time and attention to juveniles" (Bedau 404). The death penalty is burdening the financial resources for many social programs, including the funding for more police officers and a more functional criminal justice and correctional system.

If most everyone can agree that killing others is wrong, then why is the United States undergoing a national debate about the death penalty? The public cannot agree on the effectiveness of the capital punishment laws in the United States. Supporters believe that it is an effective form of punishment as well as a societal defense against offenders and is also cost friendly to the national economy (Montague). On the other hand, abolitionists fear for the lives of innocent victims that are being lost at the stake of "justice". Furthermore, proponents have discovered that the death penalty does not deter crime, but is a more costly alternative to life imprisonment. Though both sides are in favor for punishing criminal behavior, each side has differing beliefs about what is best for the general welfare of the nation.

No issue posed by capital punishment is more disturbing to the public than the prospect that the government might execute innocent people. Proponents to the death penalty are, of course, also against executing an innocent person (Hook and Kahn 91). Most everyone would agree that killing someone is wrong. Propon

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