{"id":13780,"date":"2020-05-12T11:53:41","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T09:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/?p=13780"},"modified":"2020-05-12T11:58:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T09:58:13","slug":"death-penalty-essays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/death-penalty-essays\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Death Penalty Essays Everyone Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Capital punishment is an ancient practice. It\u2019s one that human rights defenders strongly oppose and consider as inhumane and cruel. In 2019, Amnesty International reported the lowest number of executions in about a decade. Most executions occurred in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Egypt<\/a>. The United States is the only developed western country still using capital punishment. What does this say about the US? Here are five essays about the death penalty everyone should read:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen We Kill\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

By: Nicholas Kristof | From: The New York Times 2019<\/p>\n

In this excellent essay, Pulitizer-winner Nicholas Kristof explains how he first became interested in the death penalty. He failed to write about a man on death row in Texas. The man, Cameron Todd Willingham, was executed in 2004. Later evidence showed that the crime he supposedly committed – lighting his house on fire and killing his three kids – was more likely an accident. In \u201cWhen We Kill,\u201d Kristof puts preconceived notions about the death penalty under the microscope. These include opinions such as only guilty people are executed, that those guilty people \u201cdeserve\u201d to die, and the death penalty deters crime and saves money. Based on his investigations, Kristof concludes that they are all wrong.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Kristof has been a Times columnist since 2001. He\u2019s the winner of two Pulitizer Prices for his coverage of China and the Darfur genocide.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Inhumane Way of Death\u201d<\/a><\/h2>\n

By: Willie Jasper Darden, Jr.<\/p>\n

Willie Jasper Darden, Jr. was on death row for 14 years. In his essay, he opens with the line, \u201cIronically, there is probably more hope on death row than would be found in most other places.\u201d He states that everyone is capable of murder, questioning if people who support capital punishment are just as guilty as the people they execute. Darden goes on to say that if every murderer was executed, there would be 20,000 killed per day. Instead, a person is put on death row for something like flawed wording in an appeal. Darden feels like he was picked at random, like someone who gets a terminal illness. This essay is important to read as it gives readers a deeper, more personal insight into death row.<\/p>\n

Willie Jasper Darden, Jr. was sentenced to death in 1974 for murder. During his time on death row, he advocated for his innocence and pointed out problems with his trial, such as the jury pool that excluded black people. Despite worldwide support for Darden from public figures like the Pope, Darden was executed in 1988.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Need To Talk About An Injustice\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

By: Bryan Stevenson | From: TED 2012<\/p>\n

This piece is a transcript of Bryan Stevenson\u2019s 2012 TED talk, but we feel it\u2019s important to include because of Stevenson\u2019s contributions to criminal justice. In the talk, Stevenson discusses the death penalty at several points. He points out that for years, we\u2019ve been taught to ask the question, \u201cDo people deserve to die for their crimes?\u201d Stevenson brings up another question we should ask: \u201cDo we deserve to kill?\u201d He also describes the American death penalty system as defined by \u201cerror.\u201d Somehow, society has been able to disconnect itself from this problem even as minorities are disproportionately executed in a country with a history of slavery.<\/p>\n

Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and author. He\u2019s argued in courts, including the Supreme Court, on behalf of the poor, minorities, and children. A film based on his book Just Mercy was released in 2019 starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.<\/p>\n

\u201cI Know What It\u2019s Like To Carry Out Executions\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

By: S. Frank Thompson | From: The Atlantic 2019<\/p>\n

In the death penalty debate, we often hear from the family of the victims and sometimes from those on death row. What about those responsible for facilitating an execution? In this opinion piece, a former superintendent from the Oregon State Penitentiary outlines his background. He carried out the only two executions in Oregon in the past 55 years, describing it as having a \u201cprofound and traumatic effect\u201d on him. In his decades working as a correctional officer, he concluded that the death penalty is not working<\/a>. The United States should not enact federal capital punishment.<\/p>\n

Frank Thompson served as the superintendent of OSP from 1994-1998. Before that, he served in the military and law enforcement. When he first started at OSP, he supported the death penalty. He changed his mind when he observed the protocols firsthand and then had to conduct an execution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere Is No Such Thing As Closure on Death Row\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

By: Paul Brown | From: The Marshall Project 2019<\/p>\n

This essay is from Paul Brown, a death row inmate in Raleigh, North Carolina. He recalls the moment of his sentencing in a cold courtroom in August. The prosecutor used the term \u201cclosure\u201d when justifying a death sentence. Who is this closure for? Brown theorizes that the prosecutors are getting closure as they end another case, but even then, the cases are just a way to further their careers. Is it for victims\u2019 families? Brown is doubtful, as the death sentence is pursued even when the families don\u2019t support it. There is no closure for Brown or his family as they wait for his execution. Vivid and deeply-personal, this essay is a must-read for anyone who wonders what it\u2019s like inside the mind of a death row inmate.<\/p>\n

Paul Brown has been on death row since 2000 for a double murder. He is a contributing writer to Prison Writers and shares essays on topics such as his childhood, his life as a prisoner, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":13782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8805],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issues","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Death Penalty Essays Everyone Should Know | Human Rights Careers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/death-penalty-essays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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