Wrongful convictions happen so often that 14 states have a compensation program set up for those who spend a portion of their innocent lives in jail. Some of these wrongfully convicted people can even end up on death row. If that happens, you’ll need the highest level of legal representation to work tirelessly to find out how to get you acquitted. While the convicted party can often be approached by an expungement attorney, if you are truly innocent, an expungement attorney is not what you need. You need a highly respected lawyer that specializes in criminal law. A criminal defense lawyer will be more familiar with the types of loopholes needed to stay a death penalty until they can prove your innocence. Here are a few of the arguments of the death penalty.
FOR:The Court has maintained a humane method of carrying out capital punishment so there is no conflict with the eighth amendment that forbids cruel and unusual punishment by the federal government. A compassionate lawyer is not going to want people to suffer, only to pay.
AGAINST: While the act itself may not be cruel and unusual as far as what the recipient feels, the punishment overall is unusually severe. It is incredibly final. The constitution states that everyone has the right to a fair trial. It allows even the worst criminal to remain human. However, when the death penalty is invoked, it turns the convicted person from human to property, stripping them of all dignity in the minds of others. From that standpoint, it is indeed a cruel and unusual punishment.
FOR: The one fear that most people have is death. By having death as the penalty for murder, it can deter a criminal from committing the act. Life in prison is not as scary because there is always a chance. If you are alive there is hope, but if you receive the death penalty, it’s over. If execution is what stops people from murdering, then that is what is necessary.
AGAINST: Up until now, there hasn’t been any proven research or studies done that can prove that the possible consequence to murder to death will stop a criminal more than life in prison will. Take a look at the different states; those that have the death penalty do not have less crime than those that do. Furthermore, states that have done away with capital punishment have seen no major shift in criminal activity or murder rates.
FOR: What a person gets what he deserves, it is a credit to society. The order of society is interrupted by crime. If he has taken something that he does not deserve, the price he pays needs to match the crime he has committed. Retribution is not the same as revenge. Retribution offers a well thought out and calculated decision while revenge is based on emotion.
AGAINST:Killing someone because they killed someone else only perpetuates the line of violence. While this punishment may offer some sort of closure to the loved ones, it is still more revenge than retribution.
FOR: In every method of punishment, there is going to be the risk of mistakes. The way that the system is set up, ensures that there is an incredibly high standard for the death penalty. The lawyer must prove without a shadow of a doubt that the other party is guilty. Even an expungement attorney understands the need for revenge, that’s why people commit certain crimes that need to be wiped. Saying that the risk of executing an innocent person should do away with the death penalty is like saying that the risk of a car accident should make cars illegal.
AGAINST: There have been 87 people that were wrongfully convicted and put on death row since 1976 when capital punishment was reinstated. They were found to be innocent and freed before they were executed. However, this is a happening to one out of every seven people. There is just too much risk involved. Those who decide who is convicted are flawed humans with bias and prejudiced ideas.
Of all the lawyers, expungement attorneys, DUI lawyers, sex crime attorneys and others, criminal defense lawyers are what you need to get you out of a jam like a wrongful conviction.
