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The Death Penalty Information Center states how Governor Ralph Northam signed a new bill abolishing this sentence. This marks Virginia as the 23rd state to get rid of the death penalty and the first Southern one! This is a large deal as this state has conducted some of the most executions in both colonial and modern times. A state that has relied so heavily on the death penalty has never before repealed it until now! "The symbolic value of a legislature sitting in the former capital of the Confederacy dismantling this tool of racial oppression cannot be overstated."

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Graph of the death penalty usage over the years

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Graph of the death penalty usage over the years

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My op-ed is on the death penalty, and how I believe it should not be allowed. I chose this topic because of how often we see innocent people being put to death when they clearly have been treated unfairly. I am most proud of the ending as it sums up all my thoughts about our current political system. People think more of sides of a political spectrum vs. the actual beliefs, which is keeping our country from progressing. I am hoping my op-ed can bring light to our issues.

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America is a great country, or so we’ve been told; by our school systems, holidays and just any time the words America comes out of some old, white politician. We can forget all the mistreatment of minorities and women because that’s all over now! It’s perfect here! Except, that’s just not true. The establishment sworn to protect us is currently a big perpetrator of the injustice America currently faces. No matter who you are, you might be aware of the high rates of police brutality and disproportionate numbers of people of color in jail. A worry I have and want to share is about the death penalty, and how it is an immoral way to get rid of (an alarming amount of innocent) criminals.

It’s been demonstrated time and time again that black and brown people are on death row for the same crimes that white people have committed, but the punishment is less than equal. In an article titled “The Case Against The Death Penalty” originally by Hugo Adam Bedau, it was explained how when black and white people were compared, black people were executed for “less-than-capital offenses,” usually with a white victim. In the years between 1930 and 1976, 90% of the men executed for rape were black. The death penalty since its creation has been used to target minorities. The level of punishment vs. crime is out of line for people of color and lower class. It has been this way for so many years.

In another article called “Death Penalty,” they say how “71 people were on death row for juvenile crimes.Two-thirds were people of color, and more than two-thirds of the victims were white.” Even now, there are disproportionate numbers of people of color (POC) incarcerated and on death row because of the system that targets them for their skin color. The prisons we have now have prejudices that have huge impacts on the fate of other races. Keeping this cruel sentence at its current state will lead to the continued injustice of our fellow Americans.

In a survey to middle schoolers, when asked why the death penalty should or shouldn’t be kept, student Logan Norrily said that “I think their pain should not be ended after they caused so many other people's pain. It is better they live out their sentence (hopefully long).” People agree that after causing so many people pain, someone should not just get theirs ended quick. People who have committed horrible crimes don’t deserve for their suffering to end quickly via an electric chair, for example.

During an interview with 8th grader Lila Fabian, she was asked if she agreed with the death penalty and why. “No, I don’t agree with the death penalty because just because someone committed a crime doesn’t mean they deserve death, it’s an inhumane way of dealing with criminals. And it doesn’t benefit anyone in the end.” The death penalty doesn’t solve problems, it is just a shortcut to not having that problem existing anymore, but it doesn’t make things better.

Of course, there will be a difference in opinion. A piece by George Brauchler, “Coloradans should have the final say on the death penalty (and I’d hope they keep it),” argues that not having a death penalty treats murders the same and that if a person commits one crime, another three or four is just a “freebie.” My thoughts on this is that the opposite could be said about their perspective. When you catch a murderer and sentence them to death, you’re letting them get away with that murder, as death is the easy way out. If someone knew that they were going to be sentenced to death for the first five kills, why not snag two more? However, if they were to just be locked up in a jail cell for the rest of their natural lives, rotting and thinking about what they had done, justice feels served.

But does any of this really matter? We all want the same thing- to live happy lives. We really shouldn’t be fighting each other, but the systems created hundreds of years ago during a time where the only people with power were white men. This democracy we’ve created has only led to a further divide, where no change can be made. Our country could actually be something great, but we’re all caught up in sticking to red or blue. It’s frustrating to see so many ignorant people go blind to what is happening right in front of our eyes. We shouldn’t be democrat vs. republican, but citizens vs. a government that can control whether we live or die. All both sides want to do is fight and spite one another, when that won’t solve the issues we face every single day.