Essay#1

Gabriel Elias Cedeno

Enter the name of Instructor

Government

October 9, 2019.

Essay #1

Cameron Willingham's case is an example of how the criminal justice system in Texas does not serve the purpose of lawful conviction completely. The case history of Willingham’s case suggests that his execution on February 17, 2004, was the result of incomplete and duplicitous investigations. He was sentenced to death on the charges of setting his home on fire, which resulted into killing of his three daughters. Later on, the investigations revealed that none of the investigations was thoroughly completed and for such reasons conviction of Willingham remains invalid.

Considering the case scenario, I believe that the death penalty should be eliminated. It is not right that the criminal should be met as to how they have done to the victim. Similarly, there remain the chances that the victim can later be proved innocent (as happened in this case). This is also irreversible, which is the most pressing concern about death penalties. I believe that any justice system on Earth cannot be completely correct. For some faulty pieces of evidence or unintentionally, Judges or Juries can convict the innocents. This case and the case of Donald Marshal are suggestive of this fact.

Similarly, there are wide chances that people who end up in prisons, later mend their ways. There is proof that people who serve a long time in jail later turn innocent. The jury therefore, always considers such aspects also. In the Texas justice system, as it is multiplexed, there exist wide chances that different sentences are given in some cases. Although, the racial segregation also remains a factor considered in deciding about the fate of anyone’s life. For example, Blacks who often remain the victim of harsh treatment by White Americans were convicted more compared to the Whites. Similarly, in Canada, before a complete ban over the death penalty, more Indians, French, and Ukrainians were killed in the death penalty compared to Native Americans.

The political circles have been long debating about the total extraction of the death penalty from Texas. This political debate is not new; rather, it has taken over the political institutions for quite along. Recently, with the signing of the executive order by the governor of Texas, Gavin Newson, there will be a complete ban on the executive orders of around eight hundred inmates during his term ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"MJGaWQBl","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Arango)","plainCitation":"(Arango)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":593,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/4PSNIVAH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/4PSNIVAH"],"itemData":{"id":593,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"Democrats Rethink the Death Penalty, and Its Politics","container-title":"The New York Times","section":"U.S.","source":"NYTimes.com","abstract":"Following California’s moratorium on executions, Democrats running for president embraced abolition, signaling a generational shift for the party.","URL":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/us/politics/death-penalty-democrats.html","ISSN":"0362-4331","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"Arango","given":"Tim"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",4,7]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",10,9]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Arango). Both the Republicans and the Democrats have debated for quite long over the issue of the death penalty. With the signing of this order, the Democrats called out in support of this bill. Some democrats called capital punishment a moral outrage based on racial biases. Some like Kamala Harriss, who had been a former prosecutor called for completely eliminating the death penalty by a federal moratorium throughout the length and breadth of America. The signing of this executive order mark a generational change since, in Texas, many believed that the death penalty serves the purpose far better compared to sending the faultiest in prison.

My personal position on the death penalty is a little influenced by the political perspectives. I am a thorough reader of such cases; therefore, I believe that there exist loophole in-laws which resultantly impacts negatively over prisoner’s fate. Since each perspective attached to the death penalty is right, therefore, the criminal justice system needs to consider thoroughly the loopholes which impact much negatively over the execution of innocent people. I believe that unless the creation of a justice system based on scientific and legal measures is not adopted, the death penalty should be banned. The case mentioned above and several other cases otherwise will keep on pigmenting the criminal justice system in America.

Work Cited:

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Arango, Tim. “Democrats Rethink the Death Penalty and Its Politics.” The New York Times, 7 Apr. 2019. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/us/politics/death-penalty-democrats.html.