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The Death Penalty Many controversies exist surrounding the use of the death penalty in the American criminal justice system. While reading A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, I came across several key points that reflect many of the arguments associated with these controversies. One example that caused me to consistently make a comparison in my mind was the differences that exist between the use of the death penalty during the time of the book in the 1940’s, and its use in today’s criminal justice system. In A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson’s case took place in a time when blacks were not afforded equality in society and especially in the criminal justice system. He was put on death row after he was unlucky enough to have been in the store when his friends got into the dispute with Mr. Grope. In their dispute Mr. Grope, and Jefferson’s two friends were shot and killed, leaving Jefferson as the only one left alive. While it makes sense that this would look bad in the eyes of the authorities, the criminal justice system that was in place at that time did not afford Jefferson a trial that was motivated by the search for the truth. Instead it was a trial motivated by racism and inequality. One where a white