Arguing against the Death penalty.

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Should Linda Carty be murdered?

In 2002, Linda Carty was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of Joana Rodriguez and the abduction of her four day old son.  She has spent the past eight years on death row and throughout this time she still claims that she is innocent and was framed for the murder by the three men who actually killed her.  Carty’s execution could take place within the next couple of months but should she really be allowed to die for something she may not have done?  Her case has brought controversy about whether the death penalty should still exist, so should it?

In 2008, at least 2,390 people were killed by the death penalty.  Some of those people could have been innocent.  One example is Cameron Todd Willingham.  In 2004, he was found guilty of burning his house down killing his three children.  He was in fact innocent and in the days leading up to his case evidence was found which showed that the main evidence against him was not valid.  This was ignored and in February 2004 he was killed.  This is why the death penalty should not exist.  We do not know exactly how many people have been given the death sentence when they are innocent because investigations do not usually go on after someone has died of capital punishment.  

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Many people hold the view that those people facing the death penalty deserve to die and it is in the interest of the public that those people should not have contact with innocent citizens.  However, I think that there are many people who want to get a second chance at life and after they have served their sentence, then they should get the chance to redeem themselves and try to do some good in the world.  

There are people in society that think that those serving sentences in death row must be given the death penalty, so their victim’s ...

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This essay is very well written and flows well, and the candidate shows a good command of spelling and grammar.

The candidate has approached this topic from a number of different perspectives – legal arguments, humanistic arguments as well as offering a Christian perspective. This is very effective and gives an impression of the variety of types of people who oppose the death penalty. S/he has also put various rhetorical devices to use effectively: rhetorical questions, examples from current affairs, emotive language, use of statistics, quotations from those involved etc. The use of recent examples, such as Linda Carty, Cameron Todd Willingham etc, to support his/her arguments is done very well and fits in nicely with the other arguments presented. Whilst the candidate could have included more of the other side to the his/her argument s/he has argued the case against the death penalty effectively.

The candidate has approached the topic well, and there is a clear structure to her/his arguments. S/he has argued against the death penalty effectively, although perhaps s/he could have included more of his/her opponents’ arguments, even if only to criticise them; at present, her argument seems a little bit one-sided. The candidate also has only discussed the use of the death penalty in the USA – perhaps s/he could also have included its use in other countries, such as Russia, China etc. This could have been a great opportunity for further discussion, although if you are constrained by a word limit, it is better to set out the remits of your essay clearly in the title, i.e. “Arguing against the Death Penalty in the USA”.