Real world cases of the WRONGFULLY convicted
There have been large amounts of wrongfully convicted citizens who have been sent to death row in preparation of execution. As mentioned in "The Issue" tab, this is one of the biggest reasons why many people are against capital punishment. Other information about the death penalty and why it splits nations' opinions can be found in "The Issue" tab as well.
On a website called, Death Penalty: Working for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, there is information about wrongfully convicted citizens who were faced with capital punishment for a crime they did not commit. The website provides information about the crime they were convicted for, how many years they served in jail and factors that made the conviction wrong. More than 200 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes in California. Out of the 200 innocent men and women convicted, six of them received the death penalty. One specific person that caught my eye was Herman Atkins, who served 11.5 years in prison for raping a woman in a robbery in 1986. Herman Atkins had to spend almost 12 years in prison before they realized that the witness had mistaken Atkins' identity with the criminal. When reading Herman Atkins state, "Only God and I knew of my innocence," I felt compassion and sympathy towards him because I wondered how I would feel if no one believed me about not committing the crime and having to spend almost 12 years in prison fighting for my innocence. Though many people would say that he can just continue his life from before he was convicted; it is much harder than that. Victims like Herman Atkins who are wrongfully convicted have to try and gain their life back. People like Atkins now have to try and find a job to make a living and have to live with the fact that their family has grown without them.
Click on the link in the above paragraph to view many other stories from those who were wrongfully convicted.
Click on the link in the above paragraph to view many other stories from those who were wrongfully convicted.
Another story that involved a person who was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit was Ray Krone. Ray tells his story of how he was convicted of murder in Phenix, Arizona in 1992. He explains that he was convicted solely on bite mark evidence and was sent to death row. Finally in 2002, DNA evidence that matched another man was found and Krone was released. During the video Ray claims that before the conviction he believed in the death penalty, but now he is against the death penalty because of how the media portrays them. Ray realizes that the media is making him look like a monster to society, which concludes many citizens to believe that he should be killed for his crime. When Ray was released from death row, he became the CEO for a company called Witness to Innocence, which is dedicated to the abolishment of the death penalty through many of those who were faced with wrongful convictions to take action and tell their story to the government in hopes of change. Throughout the video, Krone says that the country should not have a penalty that is not reservable. This video is a very powerful story because it shows that the death penalty is an irreversible action that people who are wrongfully convicted have to face. Ray is an inspirational human being because he wants to teach the country about the effects of the death penalty and the possibility of errors that can be made.
Below is the video of Ray Krone's story.
Below is the video of Ray Krone's story.
To be or not to be?
James Holmes, the man behind the killings of 12 people at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight showing of the movie, "The Dark Knight Rises" may be sentenced to his death. Many people are questioning whether or not James Holmes should receive capital punishment for the terrible killings he committed on innocent human beings. The question that many are wondering who are involved in this case is if it serves justice by sending James Holmes to death row, as the processucters insist, or whether the money should be better spent on schools, parks and roads. Court cases like this killing spree in Aurora, Colorado truly divide the nation's opinions on whether the accused should receive the death penalty or be sentenced to life in prison.
Click here to learn more about the Aurora, Colorado killings.
Click here to learn more about the Aurora, Colorado killings.