Important writing from Paul Graham about the death penalty…
A 2014 study by the National Academy of Sciences found that at least 4% of people sentenced to death are innocent. As the New York Times Editorial Board wrote about the Glossip case:
This case pretty well sums up the state of the death penalty in America. Supporters like to say it is reserved for the “worst of the worst,” but that is demonstrably untrue. It is more accurate to say that capital punishment is arbitrary, racist and meted out to those without the resources to defend themselves.
[emphasis added]
Source: The Case of Richard Glossip