The death penalty has been in our society for centuries. The death penalty is a process of getting rid of dangerous criminals such as someone who has committed murder. The death penalty is a long process for the court system and the person standing trial. In my opinion the death penalty should be banned. In the United States of America about 13,000 people have been executed since the colonial times (B.A Robinson 2012). The majority of these 13,000 people were poor and could not afford a lawyer. Although they could have had a lawyer appointed to them, there is a chance that the lawyer did not try their best to prove that the criminal was innocent. The process of the death penalty varies from about 17 year to well over 20 years (death penalty information 2013). In the court process the criminal attempts to prove his/hers innocence even after being convicted. From 1995 to 2000 federal prosecutors sought the death penalty for more than 183 defendants 74% were minorities. (B.A Robinson 2006). This proves that minorities have higher rates of getting the death penalty than whites. I believe that having the death penalty as a sentence is torture to the person that is receiving it. The reason I say this is because knowing that you are going to die can cause someone to go insane and make bad choices. The bad choices I am talking about can include suicide, or possibly killing a guard or another inmate. Do we really want to let a guard with a family die just because the inmate knows he will never get parole or see the outside of a jail. How can we live standing by while someone takes and innocent life? Yes our society does make mistakes but making a mistake in a death sentence could be devastating. It could cause tremendous amounts of problems to the family, ranging from financial or mental problems. There is no proof saying that the death penalty can prevent people from