Capital Punishment

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due to evidence of their wrongful convictions. In 2003 alone, 10 wrongfully convicted defendants were released from death row (http://www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-and-innocence/page.do?id=1101086).

States without the death penalty have better records on homicide rates. The New York Times found that states without the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states with the death penalty. The times reports that ten of the twelve states without the death penalty have homicide rates below the national average, whereas half o the states with the death penalty have homicide rates above. During the last 20 years, the homicide rate in states with the death penalty have been 48% to 101% higher than in states without the death penalty.

In the past ten years, the number of executions in the United States has increased while the murder rate has declined. Some commentators have maintained that the murder rate has dropped because of the ...

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