A Persuasive Speech Arguing for the Abolition of Capital Punishment

This persuasive speech, delivered by a student, argues for the abolition of capital punishment. The speech begins with an introduction highlighting the philosophical perspective against capital punishment and provides statistics on its prevalence. The body of the speech presents several key arguments: the lack of evidence that capital punishment deters crime, the high costs associated with capital punishment, and the risk of executing innocent individuals due to wrongful convictions. The speech provides data and examples to support these claims, including a comparison of murder rates in states with and without the death penalty, cost analyses from various states, and examples of individuals wrongly convicted and executed. The speech concludes by emphasizing the importance of compassion, mercy, and the global trend towards abolishing capital punishment. The author calls for an end to capital punishment, highlighting its high cost and the risk of executing innocent people. The speech references multiple sources to support its claims.

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Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
A Persuasive speech on Capital Punishment
Stance: Capital Punishment should be Abolished
General Purpose: Convince
Specific Purpose: The audience will see it reasonable to abolish capital punishment.
Central Idea: The capital penalty robs life to some innocent persons, risk of flawed trials, and it is costly.
Introduction
Karl Max, a well-known scholar famous for his knowledge on philosophy and sociology
once pointed out that ‘it is overly challenging to pinpoint any principle that justifies capital
punishment even in a society that finds glory in it’. This aligns with the whole idea that capital
punishment is a sign of weakness. Although unproven beyond doubts, no individual is so bad
that making him good is an almost mission impossible. Primarily, as from 2015, there are 115
confirmed capital punishments in the United States alone (John). Although coming distant
second after China, the US accounts for around 19 percent of the world’s capital punishments.
The US has seen a drop in the rates of capital punishment. However, the decline barely
justifies the whole situation which entails execution for various capital offenses such as murder,
acts of terror, and treasonous cases. Most cases have been murder-related. That said, some
individuals may have all issue twisted for some situations such as killing which can be justified

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on grounds of self-defense. This greatly differs with murder which can be summed up as putting
an end to another individual’s life unlawfully and maliciously. In that regard, I am going to
highlight the reasons that scream for the abolition of capital punishment.
The Capital Punishment Bears No Beneficial Effect on Rates of Murder
Capital punishments may vary depending on laws, region, or political ideologies. In
terms of regions and state, the ones that do not impose death penalties average 2 murders per
10,000 people. On the other hand, the ones that impose death penalties have a slightly higher rate
of homicide cases with 4 murders for every 10,000 individuals (John). These facts could prove
the whole idea behind capital punishment as a crime deterrent as more of a theory than it is
practical. Even if some crimes were deterred by capital punishments, the question on whether
these avoided criminal acts would be done away with by the state-sanctioned killings.
The justice concept that seeks to balance crimes is also to be doubted when it comes to
justification for capital punishments. For instance, If I happen to steal $200 from your savings
and later I am required to pay you that same amount or an extra more, in a monetary sense such a
case is considered settled at least. Secondly, If I raze down your house, in appropriation I would
be required to build you another and pay further expenses such as rent while the construction of
the new house remains ongoing. But if cause damage to one of your eyes, for instance, having
my eye removed will not remedy the situation. Basically, two wrongs do not make a right.
Capital Punishment is Costly
An operation involving capital punishments are costly, particularly in the United States.
Each case comes with a fair share of costs such as the years of legal appeals which eat up a lot of
time of judges, defense lawyers, and prosecutors at the expense of the government.

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In a study conducted by the Seattle University’s criminal justice department, the
Oklahoma state incurs extra effort, time, and costs when the death penalty is considered for cases
on first-degree murder. The capital punishments cost three times more.
In the state of California, a cost assessment by two judges namely Alarcon and Mitchell
indicate a total of $1 billion as from 1978 (Costs of The Death Penalty | Death Penalty
Information Center). Their assessment concluded that sentencing individuals on death row to life
imprisonment would save the state close to $170 million every year. In the next 20 years, the
savings would amount to roughly $5 billion.
The system could wrongfully kill some innocent persons.
It is factual that the death penalty imposes an irreparable sentence. In the event of a
wrongful conviction leading to execution, no amends can be made. In line with that view, there
are volumes of evidence to back the claims of wrongful convictions.
These are some of the possible Wrongful Convictions:
Troy Davis, Georgia conviction. He was convicted in 1991 but was executed in 2011. He
was denied clemency despite a testimony that cast doubt on his guilt being presented. His
innocence received attention internationally that even Pope Benedict XVI and the former
President Jimmy Carter went forth to call for his clemency (Executed but Possibly Innocent |
Death Penalty Information Center).
Lester Bower, Texas conviction. He was convicted in the year 1984 and later executed in
the year 2015. He spent 30 years on death row and ended up unsuccessfully fighting for his
innocence (Executed but Possibly Innocent | Death Penalty Information Center). It is worth

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noting that his situation might have been different had the prosecutors not withheld some
evidence from the defense.
With some clarity, these examples show how the capital punishment system could be
unreliable. This is further backed by a recent study conducted by Columbia University’s School
of Law. The study unearthed that nearly a half of all capital trials were erroneous. When these
particular cases were retried, at least 8% were acquitted and 81% survived the death sentence.
Human rights (right to life included) are universally accepted and therefore endorsed by a
large portion of nations across the world. The drive to put an end to capital punishment aligns
with compassion, mercy, and forgiveness that the rest of the world strongly stresses. Currently,
140 nations have done away with capital punishment thereby demonstrating the world’s desire to
end it.
Conclusion
In fairness, why execute an individual when convictions could be proved wrong in the
near future. Furthermore, why execute an individual when it cost more than simply imprisoning
them for years close to 40. Such an individual may be proved innocent when in lockup, they can
be released and live the remaining part of their lives. In a speech delivered before a gathering at
the Memorial de Caen International Human Rights Competition in France, Senator Raymond
Lesniak termed capital punishment as brutal by highlighting that it does great damage by making
the society believe in revenge over redemption.

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Works Cited
"Costs of The Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center". Deathpenaltyinfo.Org, 2019,
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty.
"Executed but Possibly Innocent | Death Penalty Information Center". Deathpenaltyinfo.Org,
2019, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executed-possibly-innocent.
John, Donohue. "There's no evidence that the death penalty is deterrent against crime." The
Conversation (2015).