penalty warn against the risk of executing an innocent person that was convicted. The chance of executing of an innocent person is slim to none. However, if an innocent person is executed it is not the death penalty to blame for this. A person that goes to trial for a capital offense has the right to have an attorney present, introduce evidence, a fair trial, get on the stand and defend himself, and if convicted in the court of law, has the right to appeal the decision. The appeals process gives ample time to test the original verdict, examine every possible piece of evidence, and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the convict is indeed guilty as charged. This process leaves a microscopic chance of an innocent man being wrongly convicted. If an innocent person is put to death it is not the death penalty that has failed, but instead the court system. Innocent people should never go to prison in the first place. Some abolitionists also claim that the death penalty is a racist form of punishment and blacks are executed more often than whites are. The total opposite is true. From 1977 to 1998 whites executed in the United States were nearly double that of blacks. Each year, the number of whites executed was greater than that of blacks, with the exception of two tied years (Bureau of Justice Statistics). Although some abolitionists feel that the death penalty is a racist form of punishment, the May 11, 1998 issue of JET Magazine states that over fifty percent of all blacks favor the death penalty (JET Magazine, 5-6). The most controversial argument over the death penalty is over the cost of life in prison versus the death penalty. Abolitionists claim that life imprisonment costs less than using the death penalty. They are correct; but focusing on the appeals process would dramatically reduce the cost of the death penalty. The only additional costs incurred by the death penalty are the cost of execution and the time spent ...
