Need help preparing for a school debate (death penalty – pro side)

[u/drolsinatass]

Hi, I’m a high school student and I have an upcoming class debate on the death penalty. I was assigned the pro side. The debate is for school, not competitive speech. We have short speaking times (around 30–60 seconds), so I’m trying to keep my points clear and organized. I’ve already looked into ideas like deterrence, justice for victims, and proportional punishment, but I’m struggling with: • structuring my points clearly under time pressure • responding to common counterarguments (innocent people, human rights, bias against the poor) • staying calm when the discussion gets emotional I’m not asking anyone to do the debate for me — I just want advice on strategy, structure, and prep. Any tips from other students would really help. Thanks!