The death penalty seems to be a very debatable subject. There are arguments and support for both sides of the debate, but which side is right? That is a tough question to ask. After reading the article in the textbook, two other articles, and looking at statistics, I seem to feel that the death penalty may not be the right answer.
The article in the textbook The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide was fairly informative. One of the points it brought up was the cost of life without parole vs the death penalty, and those costs were stated as life without parole costing 1.1 million dollars vs the death penalty costing 3 million dollars (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009 pg 176). This is a significant difference in price. The text states that a main factor in this cost is the cost of appeals that are awarded to those convicted and sentenced to death (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 176). With just this factor it would seem more logical to just house the prisoner for life, as it would eliminate the costs of appeals. Another good point brought up in the article was the fairness of those being prosecuted in death penalty cases, it states that a lot of defendants in these cases are poor and may not have the resources to have an appropriate defense (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 177). I could see this; if you cannot afford a good lawyer you may not get the best defense possible, and the text states that since the introduction of DNA 15 death row inmates were exonerated due to DNA evidence proving that they did not commit the crime (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 177). After reading these points I wanted to look at more information, as the text did state that the death penalty could serve as a deterrent for people to not commit viole...
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...ution is the right example. You don't solve violence by committing violence.” Justice Louis E. Brandeis (Bonner, Raymond and Fessenden, Ford, 2008). While the death penalty does serve as a way of punishing those who have committed homicide, it also seems to be a way of enacting revenge on the accused. There are cases that may seem that the punishment of death is warranted, but we must look at the statistic to see if this punishment would be a deterrent to prevent this type of crime from happening again.
Works Cited
Bonner, Raymond and Fessenden, Ford, ABSENCE OF EXECUTIONS: A special report.; States With No Death Penalty Share Lower Homicide Rates, 2000
Death Penalty Informantion Center, Murder Rates Nationally and By State, 2010
Schaefer,Richard T, Sociology a Brief Introduction, pgs 175-177, The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide, 2009
Koch, Larry Wayne, John F Galliher, and Colin Wark, The Death of the American Death Penalty : States Still Leading the Way. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2012, Ebscohost Ebook.
...emphasizes the relationship between the death penalty and factors such as mass media, population diversity, community sentiment, and the roles of economic, social, and political leaders (Koch,Wark,Galliher, 2012). “There are detailed explanations –the where, how, and why of these dramatic developments in death penalty laws and practices.” (Koch,Wark,Galliher, 2012, p. 243).
Deterrence theorists view murder as rational behavior, and assume that in calculating the gains and losses from killing, potential offenders are aware of the death penalty and regard it as a more severe sanction than imprisonment. Because the threat of one's own death presumably outweighs the rewards gained from killing another, murder is not an option for most people and always discouraged. In addition, some noted proponents assert that capital punishment provides an important educative function in society by validating the sanctity of human life (Berns, 1979; van den Haag, 1975; van den Haag & Conrad, 1983). Despite this logic, some challenge the applicability of deterrence to murder. Rather than being a product of deliberation and calculation, it is known that most murders are emotionally charged and their crimes are spontaneous events; they are "acts of passion" or result from a situated transaction rather than from deliberation (Bowers & Pierce, 1980; Chambliss, 1967; Luckenbill, 1977). Indeed, a significant proportion of homicides may not be intended. The situation escapes calm discussion, or due to some extraneous factor, an assault victim dies. Under such conditions, it is unlikely that perpetrators ("killers") give serious thought to whether they reside in a death penalty jurisdiction, or the possibility of execution.
Capital punishment has as its aim not only the punishment of criminals but also the prevention of similar crimes. Unfortunately, capital punishment does not in fact deter criminal acts, as most supporters of the death penalty expect. Michael Meltsner points out that "capital punishment was justified as a deterrent to crime, yet the killing [has been] done infrequently and in privacy" (3); these factors lead to the ineffectiveness of capital punishment as a deterrent. The infrequent administration of capital punishment stems from the vast differences in each case and the legal variations among the states that permit capital punishment. Currently, t...
...ed United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment. Washington: GPO, 1994 Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America. Rowman, 1996 NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996 "Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges." USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A "Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 1999 23 Oct. 1999 Gest, Ted. "House Without a Blue Print." US News and World Report 8 Jul. 1996: 41 Stevens, Michelle. "Unfairness in Life and Death." Chicago Sun-Times 7 Feb. 1999: 23A American Bar Association. The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics. 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. Washington: GPO, 1994 Wickham, DeWayne. "Call for a Death Penalty Moratorium." USA Today 8 Feb. 1999: 17A ILKMURPHY
Radelet, Michael L. and Marian J. Borg. “The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates.” Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000): 43-61. Annual Reviews. Web.
Lewis, Neil A. “Death Sentences Decline, And Experts Offer Reasons.” The New York Times, Late Edition. New York, New York: Dec. 15, 2006. Print.
There are wide and divergent opinions on the United States’ Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment. While proponents of capital punishment allege that it can be applied as with the existence of sufficient due process, others contend that human life is irreplaceable and that “every person has the right to have their life respected” (Oppenheim, “Capital Punishment in the United States”). While capital punishment has phased in and out of the United States’ criminal justice system in the past few decades, current trends seem to fall out of favor with the death penalty. As Snell indicates, by yearend of 2011, there were 3,082 inmates held across 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons under the death sentence, where 9 states executed 43 inmates in both 2011 and 2012 (“Capital Punishment, 2011 – Statistical Tables”). In order to gain a deeper understanding and enhanced projection of the death penalty development, it is prudent to first examining historical accounts of cases that have been decided in favor or against the capital punishment in the United States.
Radelet, M. L. & Borg, M. J. (2000). The changing nature of death penalty debates. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 43-61. Retrieved February 7, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/223436.pdf
The death penalty has been backed by statistical analysis that has provided arguments for and against the sentencing based off deterrence methods. People against the death penalty have documented states that do not have the death penalty and have shown a decrease in murder rate. David Cooper’s statistical article provides information for non-death penalty states showing lower murder rates by stating, “When comparisons are made between states with the death penalty and states without, the majority of death penalty states show murder rates higher than non-death penalty states. The average of murder rates per 100,000 population in 1999 among death penalty states was 5.5, whereas the average of murder rates among non-death penalty states was only 3.6,” (Cooper, p.1). The statistics have shown that the death penalty ha...
Pasquerella, Lynn. “The Death Penalty in the United States.” The Study Circle Resource Center of Topsfield Foundation. July 1991. Topsfield Foundation. 03 Feb 2011. Web.
The death penalty, ever since it was established, has created a huge controversy all throughout the world. Ever since the death penalty was created, there have been people who supported the death penalty and those who wanted to destroy it. When the death penalty was first created the methods that were used were gruesome and painful, it goes against the Eighth Amendment that was put in place many years later. The methods they used were focused on torturing the people and putting them through as much pain as possible. In today’s society the death penalty is quick and painless, it follows the Eighth Amendment. Still there are many people who are against capital punishment. The line of whether to kill a man or women for murder or to let him or her spend the rest one’s life in prison forever will never be drawn in a staight.
The death penalty has been around for a long time now. Its purpose was to lower the crime rates and to make people feel protected again. It also served as a completed vengeance in order to have closure. But is it right? Is it really accurate like the system thinks it is? The death penalty should be abolished for several reasons.
Van Den Haag, Earnest, and John Conrad. The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.
Retribution should be taken for the violent crimes that are committed. Justice means that criminals get what they deserve. The punishment must fit the crime.