When the country is in debt, and states are facing budget shortages, $620,932 is a lot of tax money to spend on one criminal to pursue the death penalty (“Death Penalty Information Center”). The death penalty should not be legal in the United States because putting the criminal in prison would keep people safe and cost much less money than following through with the death penalty, capital punishment has also been proven not to be a deterrent, and defendants are not treated equally. The cost alone should be enough to abolish capital punishment because of the funds it dries up when more money could go towards crime prevention. If the expenses aren’t enough for a person to realize the death penalty is a waste of resources, the fact that it is proven to not be a murder deterrent should clear up the doubt. Furthermore, the inequality in the court room is icing on cake on how unjust the justice system is in capital punishment cases. It is for these reasons that the death penalty needs to be abolished in the United States.
Background
The laws and regulations of capital punishment have significantly changed over the last couple hundred years. Britain greatly influenced the original laws of the colonies because of the European settlers. The laws then were very callous and a person could be given the death penalty for a crime as trivial as stealing fruit or hitting your mother or father. The abolitionist movement didn’t start until the mid-eighteenth century when Italian philosopher, Cesare Beccaria wrote his essay, On Crimes and Punishment). Beccaria wrote in the essay that there is no rationalization for the state taking a life. The influence of Beccaria was obvious and American intellectuals began putting a bill...
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...on Center. Death Penalty Information
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Cases in which the death penalty is gone after are more expensive and take more time to solve than non capital cases. “Even when a trial wasn’t necessary, those cases where the death penalty was sought still cost about twice as much as those where death was not sought” (Erb 1). The added money is due to legal representation, enhanced security for death row, and the costs it takes to go through the motions of a trial such as this. "The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the maximum security prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate” (The Death Penalty 8). With California’s current death row (670) this would generate $63.3 million dollars per year. This is important because it shows factual stats about how much these cases cost vs regular cases and how much money could be saved if the death penalty was eliminated. These statistics show my thesis is correct because the high costs are one of the reasons why the death penalty might be
The death penalty is a fair criminal punishment but too many people it is not lawful or right. The United States spends on average 39 million dollars a year on prisoners. One reason for this is the cost of the punishment. In Indiana the average capital case resulting in the death penalty is over $449,987 while the average cost for life without parole is $42,658. This is resulting in a 38 percent greater total cost of life without parole. Age is a tremendous factor in determining the death penalty, if the person is under 18 the death penalty is forbidden in all states. (“Death
The United States should dispose of the death penalty due to the astronomical price it costs taxpayers to execute a prisoner. It is sometimes suggested that abolishing capital punishment is unfair to the taxpayer, as though life imprisonment were obviously more expensive than executions. If one takes into account all of the relevant costs, the reverse is true. The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment. A murderer trial normally takes much longer when the death penalty is at issue than when it is not. Litigation costs- including the time of the judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and court reporters are all borne by the taxpayer. Florida, with one of the nations largest death rows, is a ...
“Any last words?” is the sentence that is given to the people who are about to be put to death.
Thirty-two of the fifty states of the United States of America have capital punishment and in those thirty-two sates there are over three thousand people on death row as of January 1, 2013, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The murderers of today’s society can be assured of a much longer life even after conviction because of the appeals process slowing the implementation of their death sentence. (Oberg) The imposition of the death penalty is extremely expensive because it allows for endless appeals at the expense of the taxpayers. The effectiveness of the death penalty is greatly compromised when it is not carried through. There needs to be a certainty attached to it to make it effective, and that has not happened. There needs to be one trial, one appeal, and then either acquittal, or execution. (Baltimore Sun) The states need to stop pushing for the abolition of the death penalty and start looking for a way to make it more cost-effective.
The death penalty has been part of the American judicial system since the country’s founding [1]. Most people see the death penalty as the fairest way to punish those who have killed, because, in the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “the instinct for retribution is part of the nature of man.” I do agree that the deliverance of justice is an important factor in any public policy. However, it is also important to consider the more pragmatic aspects, like the cost to the state. It is possible that the financial cost could be outweighed by the societal benefit. However, upon researching the death penalty, one would discover that the cost of capital punishment is unreasonably high, particularly in the state of California, especially when we consider how rarely the death sentence is actually implemented. In times like these, times of economic turmoil and scarce financial resources, the state cannot afford a system that is so expensive and also so rarely utilized. I believe that, in the state of California, the death penalty is overly expensive and so rarely implemented that it should be abolished.
One cannot deny that maintaining the prisoners with food, health care and other basic needs is expensive, but the long and complex judicial process makes the capital punishment more expensive. The cost of defense and prosecution of the prisoner with the death penalty is almost three times higher than that of non- death penalty prisoner. Each year, hundreds of million dollars are spent on the death penalty cases which could be better be used in providing support to the victims’ families. It also directly affects the economy of government. The cost of death penalty are different according to the states, California being the most expensive state. According to the fact sheet organized by Death Penalty Information Center, the cost of the death penalty in California has totaled over four billion dollars since 1978 and if the Governor commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life parole, it would result in an immediate savings of 170 million dollars per year, with the savings of 5 billion dollars over the next 20 years (“Costs of Death Penalty”, 2010). Besides that, the provision death penalty is discriminated against the poor because they cannot afford effective, high powered lawyers. Hundreds of people are put to death across the USA every year, the evidence suggests that the poorest are paying the highest price. A study found that the average cost of defending a
Many people are led to believe that the death penalty doesn’t occur very often and that very few people are actually killed, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1,359 people have been executed as a result of being on death row since 1977 to 2013. Even though this form of punishment is extremely controversial, due to the fact that someone’s life is at stake, it somehow still stands to this very day as our ultimate form of punishment. Although capital punishment puts murderers to death, it should be abolished because killing someone who murdered another, does not and will not make the situation any better in addition to costing tax payers millions of dollars.
One of the major problems many have with capital punishment is the cost. Death penalty trials are very complicated with many important parts, and as a result the death penalty is extremely expensive. Studies have shown that a “death-penalty trial costs $1 million more than one in which prosecutors seek life without parole (Barnes 1 of 2).” Duke University studied North Carolina’s death penalty and found that the state spent more, $2.1 million dollars more, on a death penalty case than a case seeking a life sentence (Barnes 1 of 2). Between 1995 and 2004, New York spent over $170 million dollars without executing a single prisoner (Costs 3 of 5). Death row prisoners are deemed dangerous to society and other prisoners, and so they are classified as maximum custody. This means that they are kept in a cell by themselves. Keeping prisoners on death row costs $90,000 more per year than regular confinement due to single cell housing and the extra guards that are needed in those prisons (Barnes 2 of 2). Security for the death row inmates is greatly increased which adds about 100,000 dollars to the cost of incarcerating each death row prisoner (Williams 1 of 2). California’s 714 capital prisoners cost $184 million more per year than those sentenced to life without parole. Capital crime cases have many aspects which increases the cost. Qualified lawyers are needed to work on these cases, and due to the limited amount of capable attorneys, the prisoners are forced to wait to have an attorney assigned to their case (Williams 2 of 2). These special state appointed attorneys cost the state up to $300,000 to represent each death row inmate on appeal (Williams 1 of 2). The long wait drives up the cost of the case along with the increase of time ...
Since the 13 colonies were first established in America, the death penalty has been the main form of capital punishment as a firmly deep-rooted institution in the United States. Today, one of the most debated issues in the criminal justice system is the issue of capital punishment. While receiving disapproving viewpoints as those who oppose the death penalty find moral fault in capital punishment, the death penalty has taken a very different course in America while continuing to further advancements in the justice system since the start of the new millennium. While eliminating overcrowding in state jails, the death penalty has managed to save tax payers dollars as well as deteriorate crime and apprehend criminals.
One good thing about the practice of capital punishment is that it has evolved to a more humane nature for the person being executed. Capital punishment has been practiced for hundreds of years. In the end of the 18th century Great Britain banned drawing and quartering, which was a gruesome act where “The victims were first hung by the neck but taken from the scaffold while still alive”( Hung, drawn and quartered 10). Also around the same time France had invented the guillotine. Hangings were also made more humane by replacing short drop hangings (which basically caused the “criminals” to suffocate to death) with a long drop hanging where the criminal was dropped from a longer distance which caused the neck to break and in turn severed the spine, this change in technique would lessen the suffering of the victim. In the Uni...
The death penalty has been part of our civilization since earliest times, from the ancient cultures to the Romans were harsh and swift in their judgments and execution. Jesus himself was a victim of the death penalty. Up though time murder has always been punishable by death as well as many other crimes. Justice was often harsh and brutal. In England there was hanging, drawing and quartering or beheading, France the guillotine was used as being quicker. When we came to this country we brought the same ideals with us. The witches of Salem were burned or drowned when they were thought to cause deaths. We used firing squads, hanging was popular in the east as well as out west, the electric chair and gas chamber, now the lethal injection. And until the present time justice was swift! When our forefathers signed the constitution the death penalty was being used but no mention of it was made in the 8th Amendment as the death penalty being "cruel or unusual punishment", because they did not feel being put to death because you deliberately took anothers life was unusual or cruel but EXPECTED!
The death penalty is meant to deter criminals from committing repeat offenses. A review of capital punishment since 1975 by an economist and psychologist concluded that over many years and across states found a deterrent effect. A study in 2003 found from 1977 to 1996 that on average, each execution resulted in 18 fewer murders per county. Another review of data from the 50 states from 1978 to 1997, an economist found that each state execution deters an average of 14 murders annually. Numbers do demonstrate that capital punishment does deter crime, but the justice system should be cautious when handing out the final verdict. Officials at all levels have to keep constitutional protections in mind like due process and equal protection of the law. Although, processing the criminal shouldn’t be taken advantaged of because that will get in the way of lawful execution of the death penalty in capital
Today's system of capital punishment tolerates many inequalities and injustices. The common arguments for the death penalty are filled with holes. Imposing the death penalty is expensive and time consuming. Each year billions of dollars are spent to sentence criminals to death. Perhaps the most frequently raised argument against capital punishment is that of its cost. Other thoughts on the death penalty are to turn criminals away from committing violent acts. A just argument against the death penalty would be that sentencing an individual to death prevents future crimes by other individuals. However, criminals are not afraid of the death penalty. The chance of a criminal being sentenced to death is very slim. The number of inmates actually put to death is far less than it was decades ago. This decrease in number shows that the death penalty is faulty. With that being true, many criminals feel that they can get away with a crime and go unpunished. Also, the less that the death sentence is invoked, the more conflicting it becomes when it is actually used. Alternative can be found to substitute for the death penalty. A huge misconception of the death penalty is that it saves society the costs of keeping inmates imprisoned for long periods of time. Ironically, the cost of the death penalty is far greater than the cost of housing a criminal for life. Appeals on the death penalty become a long, drawn-out and very expensive process. There are those who cry that we, the taxpayers, shouldn't have to "support" condemned people for an entire lifetime in prison-that we should simply "eliminate" them and save ourselves time and money. The truth is that the cost of state killing is up to three times the cost of lifetime imprisonment (Long 80). ...
A study by a New York State Defenders Association in 1982 showed, “The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment. A murder trial normally takes much longer when the death penalty is at issue than when it is not. Litigation costs – including the time of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and court reporters, and the high costs of briefs – are mostly borne by the taxpayer. The extra costs of separate death row housing and additional security in court and elsewhere also add to the cost…. were the death penalty to be reintroduced in New York, the cost of the capital trial alone would be more than double the cost of a life term in prison. (“Capital