This country is determined to prove that killing someone in certain circumstances is acceptable, when in reality there can be no rationalization for taking another human life. Killing is murder. It's that simple. There have been so many different controversies surrounding this debate that the issues often get clouded by false statistics and frivolous arguments. The fundamental fact remains that killing is morally and ethically wrong. This fact does not disappear simply by changing the term "murder" to "capital punishment." The act is still the taking of a life. For these reasons, the death penalty should be abolished. Supporters of capital punishment believe that killing criminals is a moral and ethical way to punish them. They believe there is justification in taking the life of a certain criminal, when in reality that justification is nothing more than revenge. They also believe that the death penalty deters crime, although there are no conclusive studies confirming this view (Bedau). Most death row inmates belong to minority groups who tend to be poor. The fact that they are on death row can be explained as a direct consequence of their marginal economic condition. These alleged criminals receive inadequate legal representation for the serious crimes they are accused of, simply because they cannot afford to pay expensive defense lawyers (the death penalty). In virtually all cases of indigent defendants, underpaid and less experienced public defense attorneys are appointed by the court to represent the accused. Investigative funding is generally limited or non-existent. This is one reason why minorities are overrepresented on death row. Wealthier whites defend... center of paper... clearly make the case against capital punishment. There can be no justification for the taking of a life, whatever the transgression. By taking that life we, as a society, have chosen to become as monstrous as those whose heinous crimes we detest. Works cited Information document no. ACLU 14: The death penalty. ACLU http://www.aclu.org/library/DeathPenalty.pdf 04/26/00Bedau, Hugo A. The Case Against the Death Penalty. Ethics Updates.http://ethics.acusd.edu/Bedeau.html#Opinion 04/26/00Problems and controversies: the death penalty. Issues and Controversies on File http://www.facts.com/cd/i00015.htm#I00015_b 05/01/00Radelet, Michael L., updated by the Death Penalty Information Center. Post-Furman botched executions. The Death Penalty Information Center http://www.essential.org/dpic/botched.html 04/27/00