Essay ‘Agree or Disagree with the Death Penalty?’

The death penalty is a very controversial subject that people have different opinions about whether it is for or against it. In the video I watched about Todd Willingham, he was convicted for the death and the burning of his three young children, and it was such a huge debate because he was getting executed for it in Texas. The reason the case was such a huge debate was because Willingham was possibly an innocent man and had nothing to do with the death of his children. John Lentini tells FRONTLINE, “The state of Texas executed a man for a crime that they couldn't prove was really a crime” (Death By Fire). In order to execute someone, there has to be evidence first before you make a huge decision. It was later revealed in the video that Willingham was convicted and executed for the murder of his three children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Overall, in order to execute someone, evidence must be present because you don’t want to make a mistake and kill an innocent person.

When watching the video of Todd Willingham, I feel that I am for the death penalty if murder was the reason for it. I feel that a death penalty should be placed on a person if they took the lives of innocent people/person for no reason. The reason I am for the death penalty is because if someone murders someone else, they have given up their human rights, including the one to stay alive themselves. Another reason is that the punishment should 'fit the crime' because if you have killed someone, you should be killed too. Lastly, giving a killer the death sentence will stop them and others from doing it again. However, evidence should always come into place because the court doesn't want to mistakenly execute an innocent person for the crime he/she didn’t commit.

Political debates about the death penalty in Texas has become an ongoing issue for quite sometime now. My opinion on capital punishment is of course going to be different from others and that’s alright. The short film about Todd Willingham's execution has changed my opinion on the death penalty because at first I was against it. I felt that an execution of someone sometimes causes a painful death because it’s either they are being killed by a lethal injection, or being electrocuted. I also felt that no one has ever proven with numbers that the death penalty stopped other people from committing similar crimes. I later realized while watching the short film that if you do the crime, punishment will come into place no matter what. It is always a person's decision if they want to kill or harm others for no reason at all. Murderers put this upon themselves and it’s too easy to avoid. Intentionally deciding to kill and harm others is a choice, therefore, legal actions will happen. Nonetheless, watching the video about Todd Willingham really changed my perspective of the death penalty in Texas, and it really opened my eyes about the law on capital punishment.       

Cite this page