Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Economic benefits of the death penalty
Arguments for and against capital punishment
Arguments for and against capital punishment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Economic benefits of the death penalty
The war between capital punishment and life without parole is an ongoing debate being waged between the states. Capital Punishment, or the death penalty, is the process by which an individual is put to death by the state for a capital offense, whereas life without parole is when a capital offender is sentenced to a life behind bars with no opportunity for freedom. The choice to adopt or abolish capital punishment is up to each state, and it is the state’s verdict to determine if capital punishment is unjust or not. I do not believe in the capital punishment for four very important reasons: to execute an inmate the humane and correct way costs more than a lifetime in prison, it is not a deterrent for crime, the innocent may be wrongly executed, and capital punishment offers those on death row an easy way out.
The world revolves around money, so our government should not waste it putting an inmate to death when we can keep him/her alive for a quarter of the cost. The reason it costs so much to give an inmate capital punishment is because they must submit to a extensive and strenuous judicial process. By doing so, the courts are making sure that they are not executing an innocent man for a crime that he did not commit, but even with these protections, the risk of murdering an innocent man cannot be completely eliminated. Life without parole not only saves millions of dollars, it safeguards the community from an irreversible mistake in taking the wrong life. The money that is saved can then be put towards programs that can improve the community (High Cost).
When a victim who has nothing to live for commits a crime in a state where he/she knows is punishable by death, death becomes a sanctuary for the victim. The point of capital pu...
... middle of paper ...
...l punishment is still around. So why keep the Death Penalty in the United States if it only executes 3% of the inmates sentenced to it? After all, the Holy Bible says that an eye for an eye is wrong, and who is to go against that?
Works Cited
Bedau, Hugo Adam. “The Case Against the Death Penalty.” ACLU.org. 2012. Web. 4 December 2013. https://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/case-against-death-penalty
“Over Population of the Prison System and Economic Costs.” EconomicPapers.net. 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. http://www.economicspapers.net/over-population-of-the-prison-system-and-economic-costs.html
“The High Cost of the Death Penalty.” Deathpenalty.org. 2011. Web. 4 December 2013. http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=42
“Wrongful Executions.” CrimeMuseum.org. 2008. Web. 4 December 2013. http://www.crimemuseum.org/library/execution/wrongfulExecution.html
The death penalty is much more expensive than life without parole because the Constitution requires a long and complex judicial process for capital cases. If the death penalty was replaced with a sentence of Life Without the Possibility of Parole, which costs millions less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of an mistake, the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we live. Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime anymore than long prison sentences. Moreover, states without the death penalty have much lower murder rates. The South accounts for 80% of US executions and has the highest regional murder rate (Death Penalty
Colson, Charles W. “Capital Punishment.” The Rutherford Institute. 11 Nov. 2002. 30 May 2010 .
...ngs Police Department. Life imprisonment with out the possibility of parole is an equally effective, cheaper, and more humane way to punish capital criminals. Not only is the cost of executing a prisoner ridiculous, but the death penalty has in no way shown that it deters criminal activity. The abolishment of the death penalty is necessary to achieve the utopian society we as a nation so desire.
Howard, John. “The Effects of Prison Overcrowding.” P.A.T.R.I.C.K. Crusade. N.a., May 2002. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Latzer, Barry. Death Penalty Cases: Leading U.S. Supreme Court Cases on Capital Punishment. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998.
In conclusion, capital punishment is an unjustifiable act used to punish criminals. The death penalty is not only expensive, but it also lowers our morality. Desmond Tutu once said, "To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice." America is meant to be a country that symbolizes justice and the act of the government killing people, regardless of whatever reason, contradicts that. Therefore, the United States should outlaw capital punishment and convert to an alternative punishment, such as life imprisonment without parole, where the criminal can spend the rest of his life locked in a cell and living with what they did, to become the justifiable country it’s known as.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
"The Case Against Death Penalty." Aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. .
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
One of the most repetitive and controversial topics discussed in the criminal justice system, is the death penalty. Capital punishment has been a part of our nation’s history since the creation of our constitution. In fact, as of January 1st, 2016, 2,943 inmates were awaiting their fate on death row (Death Penalty Information Center). Throughout my life, I have always been a strong advocate for the death penalty. During the majority of my undergraduate degree, I was a fierce supporter of capital punishment when discussing the topic in classes. However, throughout many criminal justice courses, I found myself in the minority, regarding the abolishment of the death penalty. While debating this topic, I would always find myself sympathetic to the victims and their families, as one should be, wanting those who were responsible for heinous crimes to
Americans have argued over the death penalty since the early days of our country. In the United States only 38 states have capital punishment statutes. As of year ended in 1999, in Texas, the state had executed 496 prisoners since 1930. The laws in the United States have change drastically in regards to capital punishment. An example of this would be the years from 1968 to 1977 due to the nearly 10 year moratorium. During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes.”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment. While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that is capital punishment being used for vengeance or as a deterrent.
capital punishment? With receiving life without parole the person has no chance of release by a parole board, even with good behavior. However, life sentences gives an inmate family and lawyer time to prove their innocence if they did not commit a crime. The wrongful execution of an innocent person is an injustice that can never be rectified. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 154 cases where men and women have been released from Death Row nationally, some only minutes away from execution. Inmates sentenced to capital punishment in recent years have had the privilege to get freedom due to the improvement of technology and how DNA evidence can prove they did not commit the crime. For example, my uncle who was sentenced to capital murder had evidence that could be tested for his DNA. During his trial evidence proved that his DNA was on none of the evidence presented but he had potential eye witness to identify him. The eye witnessed were paid friends of the other suspect involved in the crime. The witnesses later came back after his conviction and revealed they were paid and they lied about the stories. He was later executed but was never given a free chance to prove his innocence. It can be conceded that, if the maximum sentence an inmate could be given it could help free more innocent people. Supporters of the capital punishment feel it is beneficial because if a person kills someone they should be
Fein, Bruce. "Individual Rights and Responsibility - The Death Penalty, But Sparingly." Speech. American Bar Association. Feb. 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
The first reason why death penalty should be allowed and get more active is life sentence is costly. According to “What is the Average Cost to House Inmates in Prison”, the average cost of housing an inmate in the U.S. was $31,286 in 2012 for per year. According to the “Who, what, where and why”, the United States has roughly 2.4 million people in prisons. Therefore, the money which America pays to keep prisoners who are in prisons is about $75120000000 for per year.
If a criminal is sentenced to life in jail, then the cost of their imprisonment would be many times this. In the USA, the average cost per prisoner annually in jail is $29,000. The cost of the drugs used for the lethal injection is believed to be $86.08. This is far less than the cost of keeping a prisoner in jail, and would save the government money that could be used to try and make the community a better and safer place. Secondly, many believe that capital punishment is right because of the justice given to the victim’s family.