Speech... no biggie

I've a special secret children ought to know; It's about the little mistakes you make as you begin to grow. If you make a mistake, you shouldn't start to cry. Mistakes are not so bad, and here is why: Oh everyone makes mistakes. Oh, yes they do Your sister and your brother and your dad and mother too; Big people, small people, matter of fact, all people! Everyone makes mistakes, so why can't you? If you make a mistake while counting to ten, Well don't get mad and don't be sad; Just start to count again. And if you should only get to eight or nine, I'm still your friend and I still like you fine, 'Cause everyone makes mistakes. Oh, yes they do Your sister and your brother and your dad and mother too; Big people, small people, matter of fact, all people! Everyone makes mistakes, so why can't you? If you spill a glass of milk all over the floor, Well, your mom and dad still like you just as much as they did before, 'Cause when Mother and Dad were just as small as you, I'll bet that they knocked their milk over too. 'Cause everyone makes mistakes. Oh, yes they do Your sister and your brother and your dad and mother too; Big people, small people, matter of fact, all people! Everyone makes mistakes, so why can't you? If everyone in the whole wide world makes mistakes, Then why can't you?”
This quote was spoken by the world renowned big bird in a song titled everyone makes mistakes. This song basically explains that its okay to make mistakes and I completely agree but only to a certain extent. What I mean is that it’s okay for most everything in the world to be subject to error but when it comes to the death penalty mistakes are not okay, but they happen. Not only that, the death penalty is wrong because it violates human rights and makes murder okay, which it is not. On top of that the death penalty is considered to be a get out of jail frre pass for some. For these reasons I stand to affirm the concept that a just society ought not use the death penalty as a form of punishment.

My core value for this case is justice through the criterion protection of order and the minority. For some the death penalty is a get out of jail free pass. Some people would rather be killed than live with what they have done. If judges give into what the defendant wants they are not punishing him but giving him a way that doesn’t allow him to think about what he has done. An example of this scenario is the Gary Gilmore case where a murderer chose the death penalty because he wanted to die. Saying, “I would definitely prefer a quick death to a slow life in the joint.” This shows that in certain cases people would prefer death than life in prison because it’s quicker. This is a similar scenario that occurs with kids who have had a troubling childhood.
The death penalty is subject to human error. The death penalty can subject innocent men to death. This is something that you can not fix because once someone is dead you can not acquit them of charges.Since 1975, 381 men have been acquitted of charges because of dna testing. With DNA testing more and more death row inmates are being exonerated and the popularity of the death penalty is decreasing because of these factors. Human error is something that occurs in every aspect of life but when messing with life and death there is no room for error. As said by Maimonides, “it is more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.” This means that freeing a thousand guilty people is better than killing one innocent person. Every year 51,000 men are wrongly accused of a serious crime in the US alone, which purposes the possibility that they could be charged with the death penalty. Just the fact that there is that possibility seems unjust to that person.
The death penalty sets a standard that makes murder okay and violates human rights. Subpoint A: the death penalty violates the right to life guaranteed in the UN. The right to life is violated by the death penalty because a human being is taking another human beings life. Subpoint B The princiapal of just murder is not logical and goes against basic moral principal that everyone has the right to life and that right should not be taken by any persons. If the judicial system allows death penalty it’s like saying that murder is okay. In some cases this could lead people to think why do I need the government to kill this person when I can do it myself because I have just cause. If this were to occur the order in society is completely disrupted and without order a society can not be considered just. Which means, if we are going by my definition of a just society, then a just society can not use the death penalty as a form of punishment because it takes away the order.
Therefore it is clear that a society gains my core value, justice in their society by not allowing the death penalty as a form of punishment.
I now stand ready for cross ex
Works Cited