Some past cases that provide more in-depth looks on the reformation of the death penalty:


March 2005 - In Roper V. Simmons 

March 2009 

 

March 2011 

Decades later, President Trump and his Justice Department, in their unprecedented barrage of executions, have disregarded all of the principles of humanity, decency and justice that my father preached. After a 17-year hiatus of federal executions, the Trump administration carried out a shocking 11 executions in the past seven months and scheduled two more for the final days of Trump’s time in office. It is worth noting that this bloodbath exceeded the executions of all states combined in 2020.

MLK III response : 
“​​Let us move toward love, not hate. The government should not carry out any further executions.”

"Any who commit murder, life in prison should receive, But not the death penalty, for such is wrong, I believe. Either killing’s right or wrong, and clearly it isn’t right, Therefore, the death penalty, we all should dismiss outright.

It’s plain hypocritical, and behaviour that’s askew, If we’re condemning killing, yet, are involved in killing too. We’re simply sanctioned killers, who also don’t have the right To kill another person; and an innocent one, we might.

Two wrongs don’t make a right; that simply, makes us more guilty, For where is our example, as we know better, don’t we? Folk can hardly be pro-life, and the sanctity of life sell, If just like a murderer, they are taking life as well.

When we kill a murderer, they’re hardly punished at all, For despite their loss of life, they’re outside the prison wall. You see, it’s behind those walls, that real punishment takes place, For behind them, just misery, twenty four seven, they face.

Imagine living alone, in a tiny death-row cell, Where every single day, is a mind-bending carousel. But leaving folk in a cell, to simply just vegetate, Isn’t to our credit either, so, let’s rehabilitate.

How we treat the offender, says a lot about us too, So, mind what you’re endorsing, be careful what you pursue. Despite what they may have done, we still should act humanely, Otherwise, we’re no better, we’re acting hypocritically.

But there is another thing, that we should consider too: What if to the gallows, friend, a judge wrongfully sends you? Yes, let the murderer live, lest an innocent man die, And we become a party to, what one could never justify."

"Somewhere, in between periods of intolerance and rage

Dawned complete understanding.

There was no comprehension so profound that it flooded my conscious mind.

Instead, there were small fits of awareness.

Some subtle; many so brutal they struck with force and paralyzed my heart

and soul.

A lifetime has passed, frozen in time behind walls of cement and cages of

steel.

In my world violence, betrayal, and hatred are the creed.

Yet it is here, after a lifetime of crime, that a culmination has occurred.

A seemingly eternal damnation has made me truly aware.

It is through this blood, shit, and cum on my hands that I finally

comprehend what I am,

What I feared I could never be.

Human."

"The prisoner, like a tragic actor,

Puts on a thousand faces:

A face of hatred or a face of love.

A put-on mask,

Beaten down in a pool of blood.

He swallows spoiled food,

Thrown down on a cold tray.

The prisoner labours under the cross

Of oppression,

A haggard man:

Exploited,--

Shattered even as a child.

He grew up in a foster home,

Or a shelter,

Or some cold uptown palace:

An alcoholic,

Unable to put down a drink;

A needle in his arm,

A drug addict pushing poison.

His crimes so fatal, like his face

hangs each day:

Rapist, armed robber, murderer.

The prisoner sees time,

Days unnumbered,

Alone, tormented by a troubled self,

In a dark stone cell.

His step becomes slow

Beneath the stare

Of the tall grey wall.

Threadbare, tattered prison clothes

Shine,

All state-owned.

The system bought his soul:

Some love their chains,

Some defiant after forty years,--

Even God forgot the innocent doing time.

We put on the same face in this world:

Here prisoners, prisoners until we die."

This poem expresses all the challenges of someone within the US incarceration system and all the unfortunate events leading up to being locked up. Kids are shattered and are broken with no sufficient support and never learn important lessons that set them up for success. Especially the innocent, they lose their hope in God, which is something no one should deal with; losing the only light they have.