America has lots of pride,
And enforces its morals worldwide.
  But before we demand
  Standards from foreign lands
We should first take a good look inside.

There's tradition in our country
That punishes men heavily
  If they make people die,
  It's an eye for an eye,
And we call it the death penalty.

It's a topic that sparks a debate,
Because killing people isn't great.
  And although highly rated
  When it was created,
There are problems with its current state.

The first of these problems is clear,
When other countries cringe in fear.
  Knowing that death awaits
  Criminals in the States,
They're reluctant to extradite here.

For who would send prisoners abroad
If the legal system seemed this flawed?
  They consider it vile
  For their man to stand trial
In a country where death's not outlawed.

The response to this foreign complaint
Is to say that a crook is no saint.
  And that we must stay current
  With this lawful deterrent
To punish those people who ain't.

Yet the real issue facing the nation
Is death penalty descrimination.
  Everyone ought to be
  Treated all equally,
But we haven't reached that situation.

It's considered by some a disgrace,
That most Death Rowers have colored face.
  They say it's an attack
  Against those who are black,
And the system is biased by race.

Statistically it has been shown
That more blacks than whites in jail are thrown.
  If the victim was white
  The odds are greater height
That the crook gets the electric throne.

We are also quite biased by gender.
If the crook on a murderous bender
  Was the female kind,
  We are much less inclined
To punish, and more apt to defend her.

Yet some people are still optimistic,
That these problems are merely logistic.
  So once we reach our aim
  To treat all folks the same,
We'll have death penalty in all districts.

Still we ought to all keep it in mind,
That it's only for bad types of crime.
  Punish with no escape
  Heinous murder or rape
But not so petty theft or bad rhyme.