Controversial issue class task

Subject - Death penalty

Sites used for research - http://listverse.com/2013/06/01/5-arguments-for-and-against-the-death-penalty/,
First blogger - Jonathan - 71
Second blogger - Brodus - 28

Blog 1 - against the death penalty

Firstly, I shall start things off by stating that a few people have been wrongly accused of murder (which does happen frequently in the courts), and subsequently have been wrongly killed due to the death penalty! Many more around (150) men and women have been again wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to be on death row for a ling period of time, helpless as they are the only ones which know they are on the brink of being innocently killed! Luckily these got away and were eventually found not guilty, but still it is inexplicable that anyone can go through the terror of knowing they they could be killed any minute of any day, be it they are innocent or not. The death penalty still takes away our most basic human right - the right to live. This absurd way of getting retribution of criminals takes away the most basic human right, and is against almost every religion that exists. What if the people forced to carry out a killing, such as doctors using the lethal injection, are religious? Or the killing is against the hippocratic oath to preserve a life? As much as it is unjust for the victim of the death penalty, the people who give the consequent punishment to kill the offender are also scarred for life, knowing they have also ended someone's life. You may be thinking that is not true, but i have evidence of this, as my wife's closest friend was once part of the firing squad, and is now totally ashamed of his actions and hasn't had a job in 35 years.
In addition to these points, I believe it is a cop out for the offenders; in the bigger picture, prison for life is more of a punishment than instant death, which many including myself believe is an easy way out for offenders which commit the most horrendous crimes. Furthermore, it hasn't proven that it dissuades people to commit similar crimes! Thousands of people in the USA (which uses the death penalty) are murdered every year, showing that the death penalty has very little if not no influence - it is absolutely pointless!
To make myself as clear as i can be, the death penalty is totally unnacceptable, is against moral and human rights and should never end someones life for an action they have committed.

Blog 2 - for the death penalty

If a person has wrongly took away someone's right to live, and have deprived friends and family of a person they care for, then why should that offender have a right to live? It is in everyone's right mind to believe that the person guilty should pay the price and consequently lose his or her life because of the terrible offence they have committed. Friends and family of the victim then have closure that the person who committed the crime has paid the price - many relatives of victims of murders usually never even get closure of who committed the crime, so with the death penalty, they are fully put to rest that justice has been done. Another point is that similar criminals are fully aware of what potentially awaits them if they murder someone, therefore they have a huge warning of the consequences; logic obviously says that these criminals would stop carrying out offences; this could help stop them attacking people in your life.
Many people against the death penalty would say that it is cruel, but isn't that what the guilty offenders deserve? Imagine if it was your family member or close friend who was killed, and the murderer was found guilty. Would you want him or her to live an easy lie in prison, not learning from what they have done and not getting full retribution? Or would you prefer that they end up on death row, being scared that any day cold be the day their life ends, and they end up eventually being killed? I'm sure every sane human being has the same answer, as that is the punishment that they fully deserve.
How could any American be ashamed at the fact that our fantastic country still uses the death penalty and we are among other 'controversial countries' who also still use it? I just don't get it. Frequently on the news, you see many offenders for different crimes coming out of prison and re-offending. This is the case with many convicted murderers, many of which don't actually face life imprisonment, get released and commit the same crime again; with the death penalty, everyone is reassured that these horrific animals are not able to be released again and potentially commit another crime.