In 1992, 17-year-old Johnny Frank Garrett was executed for confessing to raping and killing a 72-year-old nun. Such a heinous crime surely deserves the death penalty as punishment, right? The only problem is, Garrett didn't do it. Garrett was in fact a mentally ill man who had suffered severe childhood trauma, significant brain damage and multiple personality disorders. His mental instability and repeated police interrogations are the only things that led him to confess to killing the nun. Shortly after the confession, a psychologist declared him mentally incapable of admitting such a thing, and Garrett proclaimed his innocence until his execution by the state of Texas which had conveniently ignored the psychologist's declaration. Garrett went to his grave innocent and bitter towards the world, illustrated by his final words: "I would like to thank my family for loving me and caring for me. And the rest of the world can kiss my loving ass because I'm innocent." Garrett's last words were proven right twelve years later, when new evidence emerged thanks to the emergence of DNA testing. The real criminal was discovered to be Leoncio Perez Rueda and it was proven once and for all that Garrett was innocent. Our system judicial executed a man they knew was mentally ill and incapable of speaking for himself and, in my opinion, there is no greater miscarriage of justice. The tragic story of Johnny Garrett is a prime example of why we must immediately ban the death penalty. As Americans we like to think that our justice system is infallible and will always give people a fair trial and the appropriate sentence if they are found guilty. in that process. The strange thing is that Rueda wasn't given the same punishment as Gar...... middle of paper...... correcting something they did in the past makes no sense. Finally, ending someone's life prematurely deprives them of the opportunity to make amends for their criminal past. There are probably many people who were executed who had the potential within them to follow in Greg Miller's footsteps and become truly good people after being released from prison. Works Cited:1. ExecutedToday.com. Performed today, February 11, 2012. Web. February 11, 2014. .2. Sidery, Sara “Ex-Convict Changes Lives, Helps Other Criminals Find Work - WRCBtv.com | Ex-con turns his life around and helps other criminals find work - WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga news, weather and sports. WRCBTV, November 27, 2013. Web. February 14. 2014.”