Duc Ho
Roger Johnson
Speech Outline #4
Topic: Banning Death Penalty
Audience Analysis: Most audiences are familiar with this term but having different opinions; therefore, I
will provide persuasive information to make them believe it’s better to ban the death penalty.
General Purpose: To persuade the audience
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to think that government should ban the death penalty.
Thesis Statement: Being expensive and not an effective deterrence, the death penalty is also sending a
wrong message about kill people and not healing the pain of victims’ family.
Introduction:
I.
Our lives are unique and valuable, but why there are some people called authorities have
rights to take these lives away from us in some circumstance? (Gain attention)
a. Mr. Williams, an author and Nobel Peace and Literature Prizes nominee who was put to
death on December 13, 2005 by lethal injection by the state of California, brought capital
punishment back into prominent public debate....(Narrative - Pathos)
b. If you were a judge at a court, and you were responsible to make a final decision on a
murder case, would you punish the murderer death penalty? (Motivate audience)
c. Today I will convince you why you should not punish any murderer the death penalty.
Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders and should be fought
against. (Preview topic and purpose)
America remains in the minority of nations that still use death as penalty for certain crimes.
Standing alone among great democratic nations in imposing the death penalty is
another moral decision that Americans are being forced to confront.
a. Since 1850, a total of at least 46 individuals have been executed in Utah. (Make topic
relevant).
b. Death penalty has never been an effective way of punishment. There is no purpose that
death penalty serves except to further the damage that has already been done.
(Preview main points)
c. I have researched the topic, and I will show you some facts as well as some logical
reasons to support my argument against the death penalty. (Credibility)(Ethos)
II.
Body
I.
Financial cost to taxpayers of capital punishment is several times that of keeping
someone in prison for life.
a. Carrying out one death sentence costs 2-5 times more than keeping that same
criminal in prison for the rest of his life.
b. In its review of death penalty expenses, the State of Kansas concluded that capital
cases are 70% more expensive than comparable non-death penalty cases (logos).
Death penalty is a less effective deterrent, compared to life in prison.
a. A September 2000 New York Times survey found that during the last 20 years, the
homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 48 to 101 percent higher than
in states without the death penalty. (Logos.)
b. For those of you who don't feel much sympathy for a murderer, keep in mind that
death may be too good for them. The profound moral question is not, "Do they
deserve to die?" but "Do we deserve to kill them?"
It sends the wrong message: why kill people who kill people to show killing is wrong.
a. Many see the penalty as barbaric and against American values.
b. The death penalty has a message of "You killed one of us, so we'll kill you." It does
not make sense that a state honors life by turning around and sanctioning
killing.
c. The death penalty increases disrespect for human life. It dehumanizes people and
promotes murder.
d. This is an act of revenge. To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not
justice
It is useless in that it doesn't bring the victim back to life
a. Death penalty cannot heal the sadness of victim’s family. Hate, revenge, and anger
will never cure the emptiness of a lost loved one (Pathos)
b. Perhaps the biggest reason to ban the death penalty is that it doesn't change the fact
that the victim is gone and will never come back.
c. Forgiveness is always better than vengeance. Forgiveness is the only way to start
the healing process, and this won't happen in a revenge-focused individual.
(Pathos)
d. Funds now being used for the costly process of executions could be used to help
families put their lives back together.
II.
III.
IV.
Conclusion
I.
II.
III.
IV.
In conclusion, government should ban the death penalty because of these following reasons:.
(Signal End – Summarize key points)
a. The death penalty is expensive.
b. Death penalty is a less effective deterrent, compared to life in prison.
c. It sends the wrong message to people
d. It is useless in that it doesn't bring the victim back to life
So I hope I gave you enough information that can make you think again about the death
penalty(Reiterate the topic and respond)
It is your responsibility to make death penalty banned? I don't believe that God would have
supported the death penalty, and I don’t believe you would support it either. (
Challenge the audiences to respond)
Please close your eyes and think about how this life is beautiful, anyone who did something
wrong in the past should have a road to fix their mistakes.(End speech memorably) .
Supporting materials:
1. "Facts About the Death Penalty", http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/FactSheet.pdf, Death
Penalty Information Center, April 1, 2008
2. Death Penalty for Offenses Other Than Murder
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?&did=2347, Death Penalty Information
Center, 2008, accessed January 28, 2008
3. John T. Brennan, Ghosts of Newport: Spirits, Scoundrels, Legends and Lore (The History
Press, 2007), pg. 15 July 20, 2009
4. "Executions in the United States in 2009", http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-unitedstates-2009, Death Penalty Information Center