The United States of America should be a nation that strives to make this world a better place and lead by example. Preserving human rights and fundamental freedom must be prioritized above all. However, none of these values are embodied in the federal death penalty. Not only is litigation expensive, but it also is not an effective solution or deterrence to crime. The American Government must end the federal death penalty, to prevent innocent lives from being taken. The U.S. death penalty system has time and time again failed to protect the innocent. From 1973 to 2014, 150 innocent people were exonerated from death row. This capital punishment is irreversible, no matter how inequitable. It is better to let a guilty man go free, instead of sentencing an innocent man to death. This is and should remain as part of the fundamental principle of our justice system.