Essay on Teen Pregnancy - 1404 Words

Teen Pregnancy Children from homes run by teenage mothers have to face almost insurmountable obstacles in life. The incidents of depression and mental health problems, the lack of father figures, and the high rate of poverty often connected to children in homes run by teenage mothers put them at serious disadvantages when compared to children raised in nuclear families. Many people believe that the implementation of sex education in schools and the addition of more federal aid for single parents are major causes for the countrys high rate of teen pregnancies. When the true purpose of sex education and federal aid is to help strengthen the mother and her child so that they can eventually lead productive lives. The absence of a†¦show more content†¦Girls may even grow up to hate men because of an unconscious resentment toward absent fathers. The shift from the traditional nuclear family to one-parent homes has been dramatic in the United States. In many Western industrialized societies, the one-parent family is becoming more common and tolerated. However they often have not proven to be successful. Since 1970, the percentage of children living with single parents has doubled, from 12 to 27 percent, because of the increases in the divorce rate and the number of unmarried parents. Single parent families now include more than 18 million children and comprise the most common non-nuclear family. This is a startling statistic considering the fact that crime and poverty is directly related to children who are raised by teenage parents. People who are faced with the harsh reality of raising children are usually not prepared to handle the responsibility. A lot of men try to run away from the problem. They then reject their children and neglect to provide any kind of financial assistance for them. The mother is ultimately left alone to juggle the task of raising the children and earning all or most of the family income needed to support them. Forty-one percent of these mothers have never been married. Most teen mothers have to rely on government aid like Welfare, W.I.C, Focus Hope,Show MoreRelatedTeen Pregnancy1426 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Teen pregnancy is often unplanned and challenging for the future life of mother and child. The increase risk of health problems for both mother and baby occur during teen pregnancy. Teen pregnancy impacts adolescent development in all aspects: physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development. Negative consequences result from teen pregnancy include: low income, increased school dropout rates, lower educational levels, and increased rates of substance abuse (Garwood, Gerassi, ReidRead MoreTeen Pregnancy1246 Words   |  5 PagesA topic in American society that has proved to be an ongoing, and growing issue is that none other than teen pregnancy. In recent years, teen pregnancy rates have been increasing, which ultimately led to the topics increase of public and media attention. In American society teen pregnancy is often associated with negligence, as well as being irresponsible. In American society sex education for children is underdeveloped and instead society tends to use f ear and shame to highlight/combat the dangersRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teen Pregnancy1546 Words   |  7 PagesTeenage pregnancy is pregnancy in human females under the age of 20 at the time that the pregnancy ends. Low-income communities have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the United States. Because of the fact that this is a very controversial issue in the United States, it is very important that most questions be addressed. Questions like, why is a teenage girl in Mississippi four times as likely to give birth as a teenage girl in New Hampshire? Or why is the teen birth rate in Massachusetts 19Read MoreTeen Pregnancy : Teenage Pregnancy1404 Words   |  6 PagesLauryn Jones Block 5 4/27/16 What is Teen Pregnancy? Teenage pregnancy is pregnancy in human females under the age of 20. A girl can become pregnant from sexual intercourse after she has begun to ovulate which can be before her first menstrual period, but usually occurs after the onset of her periods. In well-nourished girls, menarche usually takes place around the age of 12 or 13. Most teenage girls don t plan to get pregnant, but many do. Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to both the motherRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teen Pregnancy1057 Words   |  5 PagesTeenage pregnancy is a common thing here in America. It seems teens are getting pregnant more than the average married couple. There are some risk factors teen moms face and there is also another great turn outs. There is a major difference between the two. It’s important to tell teens the turnouts of teen pregnancy for the good and bad parts. There are risks of having sex, teen moms can make a difference for her and the baby, the risk of having HIV and/or any other STD’s, and the effects on theRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teen Pregnancy1664 Words   |  7 PagesTerrazas English 4 Miss Stahlecker 4 November 2015 Teenage Pregnancy According to cda.org, in 2013, a total of 273,105 babies were born to women that were in between the ages of 15-19 years old. Teenage pregnancy is a major concern in today’s society. This paper will talk about teenage pregnancy, statistics, ways to prevent teenage pregnancy, and after birth options. So why is teenage pregnancy so important? Some people are concerned about teens getting pregnant at such an early age. There are otherRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teen Pregnancy1341 Words   |  6 PagesTeenage pregnancy is a prominent dilemma in our nation because it continues to place adolescents into delinquency. According to the United States Health and Human Services, three out of ten American teen girls will become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of twenty. That is nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies in a year (1) (HHS Pg.2 2014). Also according to U.S. Department of State, teen pregnancy budgets the United States and tax payers approximately seven billion dollars annually (2)Read MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teen Pregnancy905 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"16 and Pregnant†/ â€Å"Teen Mom† Promote or Discourage Teenage Pregnancy? (Agree/Promote) When it comes to the topic of do TV shows like â€Å"16 and Pregnant† and â€Å"Teen Mom† promote or discourage teenage pregnancy, most of us will readily agree that it in fact does promote teenage pregnancy. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how does this promote teenage pregnancy. Whereas some are convinced that it promotes teenage pregnancy through the fame some of the young couples haveRead MoreTeenage Pregnancy And Teen Pregnancy871 Words   |  4 Pagesof do TV shows like â€Å"16 and Pregnant† and â€Å"Teen Mom† promote or discourage teenage pregnancy, most of us will readily agree that it in fact does promote teenage pregnancy. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how does this promote teenage pregnancy. Whereas some are convinced that it promotes teenage pregnancy through the fame some of the young couples have achieved, others maintain that it in fact discourages teenage pregnancy by showing the struggles and realities ofRead MoreEffects Of Teen Pregnancy On Teens1643 Words   |  7 PagesEvery teen has dream about how they want to graduate from high school and then go to college, but some teens are not willing to take the challenge. Some of these teens want to drop out of high school and other teens want to keep furthering their education. For some there are obstacle that life throw at them to be able to accomplish their goals. Earning an education is challenging enough, but when there is a teen parent trying to finish their education it becomes more difficult than it would be

Forrest Gump Chapter Three Free Essays

Chapter Three When we git up to the university, coach Bryant he come out to the gym where we all settin in our shorts and sweatshirts an begin makin a speech. It bout the same kind of speech Coach Fellers would make, cept even a simpleton like mysef could tell this man mean bidness! His speech short an sweet, an conclude with the statement that the last man on the bus to the practice field will get a ride there not on the bus, but on Coach Bryant’s shoe instead. Yessiree. We will write a custom essay sample on Forrest Gump Chapter Three or any similar topic only for you Order Now We do not doubt his word, an stack ourselfs into the bus like flapjacks. All this was durin the month of August, which in the state of Alabama is somewhat hotter than it is elsewhere. That is to say, that if you put a egg on top of your football helmet it would be fried sunnyside up in about ten seconds. Of course nobody ever try that on account of it might get Coach Bryant angry. That was the one thing nobody wish to do, because life was almost intolerable as it was. Coach Bryant have his own goons to show me around. They take me to where I is gonna stay, which is a nice brick building on the campus that somebody says is called the â€Å"Ape Dorm.† Them goons escort me over there in a car an lead me upstairs to my room. Unfortunately, what might of looked nice from the outside was not true for the inside. At first, it appear that nobody had lived in this building for a long time, they was so much dirt an shit aroun, an most of the doors had been torn off they hinges an bashed in, an most of the winders are busted out too. A few of the fellers is lyin on they cots inside, wearin very little cause it about 110 degrees hot in there, an flies an things be hummin an buzzin. In the hall they is a big stack of newspapers, which at first I afraid they gonna make us read, it being college an all, but soon I learn they are for puttin down on the floor so’s you don’t have to step on all the dirt an shit when you walk aroun. The goons take me to my room an say they be hopin to find my roomate there, whose name is Curtis somebody, but he nowhere to be foun. So they get my stuff unpacked an show me where the bathroom is, which look worse than what you might expect to find at a one-pump gasoline station, an they be on they way. But before they go, one of the goons say Curtis an me should get on fine cause both of us have about as much brains as a eggplant. I look real hard at the goon what said that, cause I be tired of hearin all that shit, but he tell me to drop down and give him fifty pushups. After that, I just be doin what I’m tole. I went to sleep on my cot after spreadin a sheet over it to cover up the dirt, an was havin a dream bout settin down in the parlor with my mama like we use to do when it was hot, an she’d fix me a limeade an talk to me hour after hour – an then suddenly the door of the room done crashed in flat an scare me haf to death! A feller be standin there in the doorway with a wild look on his face, eyes all bugged out, no teeth in front, nose look like a yeller squash an his hair standin straight up like he done stuck his thing in a light-socket. I figger this be Curtis. He come inside the room like he expectin somebody to pounce on him, lookin from side to side, an walk right over the door that he just caved in. Curtis ain’t very tall, but he look like an icebox otherwise. First thing he axe me is where I’m from. When I say Mobile, he say that is a â€Å"candyass† town, an informs me he’s from Opp, where they make peanut butter, an if I don’t like it, he gonna open up a jar hissef an butter my butt with it! That were the extent of our conversation for a day or so. That afternoon at football practice it be about ten thousan degrees hot on the field, an all Coach Bryant’s goons runnin roun scowlin an yellin at us an makin us exercise. My tongue hangin down like it was a necktie or somethin, but I tryin to do the right thing. Finally they divides up everbody an puts me with backs an we start to run pass patterns. Now before I come up to the University, they done sent me a package which contain about a million different football plays, an I done axed Coach Fellers what I’m spose to do with it an he jus shake his head sadly an say not to try to do nothin – jus to wait till I get to the University an let them figger somethin out. I wish I had not taken Coach Fellers’ advice now, cause when I run out for my first pass I done turned the wrong way an the head goon come rushin up hollerin an shoutin at me an when he stop shoutin he axed me don’t I study the plays they send me? When I says, â€Å"Uh, uh,† he commence to jump up an down an flail his arms like hornets is upon him, an when he calm down he tell me to go run five laps aroun the field wile he consult with Coach Bryant bout me. Coach Bryant be settin up in a great big tower lookin down on us like the Great Gawd Bud, I’m runnin the laps and watchin the goon clime up there, an when he get to the top an say his piece, Coach Bryant crane his neck forward an I feel his eyes burnin hot on my big stupid ass. Suddenly a voice come over a megaphone for everbody to hear, say, â€Å"Forrest Gump, report to the coachin tower,† an I seen Coach Bryant an the goon climin down. All the time I be runnin over there I am wishin I were runnin backwards instead. But imagine my surprise when I see Coach Bryant smilin. He motion me over to some bleachers an we set down an he axed me again if I’d not learnt them plays they send me. I begin to splain what Coach Fellers had tole me, but Coach Bryant he stop me an say for me to git back in the line an start catchin passes, an then I tole him somethin else I guess he didn’t want to hear, which was that I had never even caught a pass at highschool, cause they figgered it hard enough to get me to remember where our own goaline is, let alone runnin aroun tryin to grap the ball outta the air too. At this news, Coach Bryant get a real odd squint in his eyes, an he look off in the distance, as if he was lookin all the way to the moon or somethin. Then he tell the goon to go fetch a football an when the football come, Coach Bryant hissef tell me to run out a little ways an turn aroun. When I do, he thowed the football at me. I see it comin almost like slow-motion but it bounce off my fingers an fall on the ground. Coach Bryant be noddin his head up an down like he should of figgered this out earlier, but somehow I get the idea he is not pleased. From the time I’m little, ever time I do somethin wrong, my mama, she’d say, â€Å"Forrest, you got to be careful, cause they gonna put you away.† I was so scairt of bein put in this â€Å"away† place I’d always try to be better, but I’m damned if there’s a worst place they could of sent me than this Ape Dorm thing I’m livin in. People be doin shit they wouldn’t of tolerated even in the nut school – rippin out the toilets, for instance, so’s you’d go to the bathroom an wouldn’t fine nothin but a hole in the floor to shit in, an they’d have heaved the toilet out the winder onto the top of somebody’s car drivin past. One night some big ole goofball what played in the line got out a rifle an commence to shoot out all the winders in somebody’s fraternity house across the street. The campus cops come rushin over, but the feller drop a big outboard motor he found someplace out the winder onto the top of the cop car. Coach Bryant make him run a bunch of extra laps for doing that. Curtis an me ain’t gettin along so hot, an I never been so lonely. I miss my mama, an wanta go back home. Trouble with Curtis is, I don’t understand him. Everthing he say got so many cusswords in it, time I get to figgerin out what they are, I miss his point. Most of the time, I gather his point is that he ain’t happy bout somethin. Curtis had a car an he used to give me a ride to practice, but one day I go to meet him an he cussin an growlin an bent over a big drain grate in the street. Seems he’s got a flat tire an when he go to change it he put the lug nuts in his hubcap and accidentally knock em down into the drain. We fixin to be late to practice which was not real good to do, so’s I say to Curtis, â€Å"Why don’t you take one lug nut off each of them three other tires an that way you will have three nuts on each tire, which ought to be enough to get us to practice?† Curtis stop cussin for a moment an look up at me an say, â€Å"You supposed to be a idiot, how you figure that out?† An I say, â€Å"Maybe I am a idiot, but at least I ain’t stupid,† an at this, Curtis jump up an commence chasin me with the tire tool, callin me ever terrible thing he can think up, an that pretty much ruin our relationship. After that, I decide I got to find another place to stay, so when we git off from practice I gone down into the basement of the Ape Dorm an spen the rest of the night there. It wadn’t no dirtier than the upstairs rooms an there was an electric lightbulb. Nex day I moved my cot down there an from then on, it was where I lived. Meantime, school is done started an they got to figger out what to do with me. They was a guy with the atheletic department that seemed to do nothin but figger out how to get dummos to where they could pass a class. Some of the classes was sposed to be easy, such as Physical Education, an they enroll me in that. But also I have got to take one English course an one science or math, an there is no gettin aroun that. What I learnt later was that there was certain teachers that would give a football player a sort of break, meanin that they’d appreciate he is consumed with playin football an cannot spend much of his time on school. They was one of these teachers in the science department, but unfortunately, the only class he taught was somethin called â€Å"Intermediate Light,† which was apparently for graduate physics majors or something. But they put me in there anyhow, even though I didn’t know physics from phys-ed. I was not so lucky in English. They apparently did not have no sympathetic people over in that department, so’s they tole me just to go ahead an take the class an fail it, an they’d figger out somethin else later. In Intermediate Light, they provide me with a textbook that weigh five pounds an look like a Chinaman wrote it. But ever night I take it down to the basement an set on my cot under the lightbulb, an after a wile, for some peculiar reason, it begun to make sense. What did not make sense was why we was sposed to be doin it in the first place, but figgerin out them equations was easy as pie. Professor Hooks was my teacher’s name, an after the first test, he axed me to come to his office after class. He say, â€Å"Forrest, I want you to tell me the truth, did somebody provide you the answers to these questions?† An I shake my head, an then he han me a sheet of paper with a problem written on it and says for me to set down an figger it out. When I’m thru, Professor Hooks look at what I done an shake his head an say, â€Å"Greatgodamighty.† English class was another deal entirely. The teacher is a Mister Boone, an he a very stern person who talk a lot. At the end of the first day, he say for us to set down that night an write a short autobiography of ourselfs for him. It’s jus bout the most difficult thing I ever try to do, but I stay up most of the night, thinkin an writin, an I just say whatever come to mine on account of they tole me to fail the class anyhow. A few days later, Mister Boone start handin back our papers an he criticism an makin fun of everbody’s autobiography. Then he come to what I done, an I figger I’m in the doghouse for sure. But he hold up my paper an start readin it out loud to everbody an he commences laughin an everbody else is too. I had tole bout bein in the nut school, an playin football for Coach Fellers an goin to the All State Football banquet, an about the daft board, an Jenny Curran an the movie an all. When he’s thru, Mr. Boone, he say, â€Å"Now here is originality! Here is what I want,† an everbody turn an look at me, an he says, â€Å"Mister Gump, you ought to think about gettin into the creative writing department – how did you think this up?† An I says, â€Å"I got to pee.† Mister Boone kinda jump back for a secont, an then he bust out laughin an so does everbody else, an he says, â€Å"Mister Gump, you are a very amusing feller.† An so I am surprised again. The first football game was on a Saturday a few weeks later. Most of the time practice had been pretty bad, till Coach Bryant figgered out what to do with me, which was bout what Coach Fellers had done at highschool. They jus give me the ball an let me run. I run good that day, an score four touchdowns, an we whip the University of Georgia 35 to 3 an everbody slappin me on the back till it hurt. After I get cleaned up I phoned my mama an she done listened to the game over the radio an is so happy she can bust! That night, everbody goin to parties an shit, but nobody axed me to any, so I go on down to the basement. I’m there a wile when I hear this kind of music comin from someplace upstairs and it’s real pretty-like, an, I don’t know why, but I went on up there to find out what it was. There was this guy, Bubba, settin in his room playin a mouth organ. He’d broke his foot in practice an couldn’t play an didn’t have nowhere to go either. He let me set on a cot an listen to him, we didn’t talk or nothing, he jus settin on one cot an me on the other, an he’s playing his harmonica. An after bout a hour I axed him if I could try it an he says, â€Å"Okay.† Little did I know that it would change my life forever. After I’d played aroun on the thing for a wile, I got to where’s I could play pretty good, an Bubba was goin crazy, sayin he’s never heard such good shit. After it got late, Bubba says for me to take the harmonica with me, an I did, an played it a long time, till I got sleepy and went to bed. Next day, Sunday, I went to take the harmonica back to Bubba but he say for me to keep it, cause he got another one, an I was real happy, an went for a walk an set down under a tree an played all day long, till I run out of things to play. It was late in the afternoon, an the sun was almost gone when I begun to walk back to the Ape Dorm. I was goin across the Quadrangle when suddenly I hear this girl’s voice shout out, â€Å"Forrest!† I turn aroun an who should be behin me but Jenny Curran. She has a big smile on her face and she come up and took me by the han, an says she saw me play football yesterday and how good I was an all. It turns out she ain’t mad or anythin bout what happen in the movie, an says it ain’t my fault, it was jus one of them things. She axe if I want to have a Co’Cola with her. It was too nice to believe, settin there with Jenny Curran, an she say she takin classes in music an drama an that she plannin on bein a actress or a singer. She also playin in a little band that do folk music stuff, an tells me they gonna be at the Student Union buildin tomorrow night an for me to come by. Let me tell you, I can hardly wait. How to cite Forrest Gump Chapter Three, Essay examples

In Cold Blood Essay Paper Example For Students

In Cold Blood Essay Paper In Cold Blood: the Death PenaltyCapital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The Babylonian Hammurabi Code(ca. 1700 B.C.) decreed death for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer(Flanders 3). Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites(Flanders 3). However, in recent times opponents have shown the death penalty to be racist, barbaric, and in violation with the United States Constitution as cruel and unusual punishment. In this country,although laws governing the application of the death penalty have undergone many changes since biblical times, the punishment endures , and controversy has never been greater. A prisoners death wish cannot grant a right not otherwise possessed. Abolitionists maintain that the state has no right to kill anyone; . The right to reject life imprisonment and choose death should be respected, but it changes nothing for those who oppose the death at the hands of the state. The death penalty is irrational- a fact that should carry considerable weight with rationalists. As Albert Camus pointed out, Capital punishment.has always been a religious punishment and is reconcilable with humanism. In other words, society has long since left behind the archaic and barbous customs from the cruel eye for an eye anti-human caves of religion- another factor that should raise immediate misgivings for freethinkers. State killings are morally bankrupt. Why do governments kill people to show other people that killing people is wrong? Humanity becomes associated with murderers when it replicate their deeds. Would society allow rape as the penalty for rape or the burning of arsonists homes as the penalty for arson?The state should never have the power to murder its subjects. To give the state this power eliminates the individuals most effective shield against tyranny of the majority and is inconsistent with democratic principles. Family and friends of murder victims are further victimized by state killings. Quite a few leaders in the abolishment movement became involved especially because someone they loved was murdered. Family of victims repeatedly stated they wanted the murderer to die. One of the main reasons- in addition to justice- was they wanted all the publicity to be over. Yet. if it wasnt for the sensationalism surrounding an execution, the media exposure would not have occurred in the first place. Murderers would be quietly and safely put away for life with absolutely no possibility for parole. The death penalty violates constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. The grotesque killing of Robert Harris by the state of California on April 21,1992, and similar reports of witnesses to hangings and lethal injections should leaveSo 3 doubt that the dying process can be- and often is -grossly inhumane, regardless of method(Flanders 16). The death penalty is often used for political gain. During his presidential gain, President Clinton rushed home for the Arkansas execution of Rickey Ray Rector, a mentally retarded, indigent black man. Clinton couldnt take the chance of being seen by voters as soft on crime. Political Analysts believe that when the death penalty becomes an issue in a campaign, the candidate favoring capital punishment almost inevitably will benefit. Capital punishment discriminates against the poor. Although murderers come from all classes, those on death row are almost without exception poor and were living in poverty at the time they were arrested. The majority of death-row inmates were or are represented by court-appointed public defenders- and the state is not obligated to provide an attorney at all for appeals beyond the state level. .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 , .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .postImageUrl , .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 , .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:hover , .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:visited , .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:active { border:0!important; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:active , .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509 .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ued2a528ddce15b13a44925c6ff45c509:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Personal Response to "Harlem" By Langston Hughes EssayThe application of capital punishment is racist. About 40 percent of death-row inmates are black, whereas only 8 percent of the population as a whole are black(Flanders 25). In cases with white victims, black defendants were four to six times more likely to receive death sentences than white defendants who had similar criminal histories. Studies show that the chance for a death sentence is up to five to ten times greater in cases with white victims than black victims(Flanders 25). In the criminal justice system, the life of a white person is worth more than the life of a black person. The mentally retarded are victimized by the death penalty. Since 1989, when the Supreme Court upheld killing of the mentally retarded, at least four such executions have occurred. According to the Southern Center for Human Rights, at least 10 percent of death row inmates in the United States are mentally retarded(Long 79). Juveniles are subject to the death penalty. Since state execution of juveniles also became permissible in the decision cited above, at least five people who were juveniles when their crimes were committed have executed (Long 79). Innocent people can-and have been- executed. With the death penalty errors are irreversible. According to a 1987 study, 23 people who were innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted were executed between 1900 and 1985(Long 79). Until human judgement becomes infallible, this problem alone is reason enough to abolish the death penalty at the hands of the state more dedicated to vengeance than to truth and justice. Executions do not save money. There are those who cry that we, the taxpayers, shouldnt have to support condemned people for an entire lifetime in prison- that we should simply eliminate them and save ourselves time and money. The truth is that the cost of state killing is up to three times the cost of lifetime imprisonment(Long 80). Judges and others are reluctant- as they should be- to shorten the execution process for fear that hasty procedures will lead to the executions of more innocent people. The death penalty has been imposed most for murders committed during the course of another felony. Aggravating circumstances for murder are defined in the applicable death penalty statute. Circumstances considered for murder include: -The crime was particularly vile, atrocious, or cruel. -There were multiple victims. -The crime occurred during the commission of another felony. -The victim was a police or correctional officer in the line ofduty. -The offender was previously convicted of a capital offense or violent crime. -The offender directed an accomplice to commit the murder or committed the murder at the direction of another person. (Flanders 12) In the novel, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, the main characters Dick and Perry were guilty of several of the circumstances that eventually led to their demise: -The multiple victims included all four of the Clutter family. -The event occurred during an attempted robbery. -Both were former inmates and had previous dealings with the law. -Dick had chosen Perry for his instinct as a Natural Born Killer. Further,it seems that both Dick and Perry fell almost directly under the common background of one convicted of death. The death penalty is flawed in many facets. Juries in rural counties are more likely to impose the death penalty than those in urban areas. Dick and Perry were convicted in Garden City, a small to moderate sized town. Both Dick and Perry were unemployed, poor, white criminals whose actions wrecked havoc not only on the remaining Clutter family and relatives, but on the entire town of Holcomb and surrounding areas. This only justifies and reinforces the points stated above that capital punishment is biased, racist, and is harmful not only to the offenders themselves, but to the entire community. .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 , .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .postImageUrl , .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 , .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:hover , .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:visited , .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:active { border:0!important; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:active , .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1 .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4cb8d6980f6f431ef3132505d8fb03d1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Wuthering Heights By Bronte; (1152 words) EssayOpposition to the death penalty finally acheived its goal when in 1972 the Supreme Court struck down death penalty laws, finding fault not with the theory, but with the method. However, all was lost when four years later, the decision was once more revised and ruled the death penalty once more legal. Death row will continue to expand. It is almost certain that the rising level of executions will be widely condemned. The future of capital punishment may finally come down to the question of expense. A single capital trial now costs millions of dollars. The enormous volume of continuing appeals strain both federal and state court systems. Unless workable solutions are found to the practical difficulties involved in the administration of the death penalty. American society eventually may decide to significantly restrict or even abandon capital punishment. Works Cited Flanders, Stephen A. Capital Punishment. New York, NY: Facts onFile, 1991. Long, Robert Emmet. Criminal Sentencing. New York, NY: H.W. Company, 1995.