Title: Is the death penalty a justified form of punishment
Headings: Is the death penalty a justified form of punishment
Is the death penalty a justified form of punishment
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Content: In places where the death penalty is instated it used rather inconsistently with a huge difference in the number of white people executed and the number of other ethnic groups executed. A study in the state of Ohio confirmed this. The study showed that: Offenders facing a death penalty charge for killing a white person were twice more likely to go to death row than if they had killed a black victim. Death sentences were handed down in 18 percent of cases where the victims were white compared with 8.5 percent of cases where victims were black. Also people who are poverty-stricken are much more likely to get the death sentence. This is as they often would not be able to afford good lawyers and instead get state appointed lawyers, state appointed lawyer are underpaid, overworked and often the least qualified, there are even cases where the state appointed lawyer did not even know the defendant’s name it is no wonder that most of their clients get much heavier sentence whether they are guilty or innocent. A example; Serial killers such as the infamous Gary Ridgway in Seattle who admitted killing 48 prostitutes and runaways got life in prison. A nurse in who admitted killing 17 people got life.