In Cold Blood Death Penalty Quotes

“Two wrongs don’t make a right, but it damn sure makes us even.” This famous quote relates well to the concept of the death penalty. In Truman Capote’s book, In Cold Blood, the two villains, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith commit an act of murder against a family of four. The murder takes place in the family's’ home in Holcomb, Kansas. The storyline is told from the eyes of law enforcement and also from the eyes of the two murderers. When the investigation draws to a close and the two are finally caught they go through a trial where they are found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty. Throughout the story readers are brought emotionally closer to the two murderers almost to the point where you feel sorry for them. That was not done by mistake. By making readers emotionally attached to …show more content…
Capote brings up arguments in the story commonly used by anti death penalty people. For example, Capote added details in the story about how the lawyer did not really want to serve in this case. In the novel Perry’s lawyer even confesses, “I do not desire to serve. But if the court sees fit to appoint me, then of course I have no choice.” This shows that from the onset of the case the defense lawyer did not even want to defend Dick and Perry. The fact that the lawyer from the very beginning did not want this case suggests that they had not received a fair trial. Opponents of the death penalty often argue that defendants often do not have enough money to employ their own lawyers. This forces the state to appoint one for them who is often underpaid and underskilled. This aligns itself perfectly with the details about the lawyer introduced in Capote’s novel. This argument being aligned with that of other anti death penalty advocates clearly shows that Capote held a bias against the death penalty and put some of it into his