There are many reasons for the abolition of the death penalty. These include the immorality of capital punishment, its ineffectiveness as a deterrent, the possibility of executing an innocent person and the cost. Another important, but often overlooked reason is the effect that it has on the people who carry out and witness an execution. This is highlighted by the Equal Justice USA campaign.
Corrections officials, haunted by the experience of putting people to death have committed suicide, turned to alcohol or drugs or suffered mental and physical health problems.
Executions traumatise clergy, jurors and journalists, many of whom have had symptoms of anxiety, nausea and nightmares caused by the stress of witnessing executions or having to decide as a juror whether a person is guilty or not.
The families of the executed person, particularly if they witness the execution, also suffer tremendously and find it difficult to come to terms with their loss.
Supporters of the death penalty say that it brings closure to the victims family. This may be true in some cases, but as the campaign says:
The death penalty’s impact reaches far beyond the victim and the executed. All who cross its path shoulder the burden of participating in the death of a human being, while the system creates a whole new set of victims who are left to grieve in silence.
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