Abolish the Death Penalty 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. One of the many reasons the death penalty should be abolished it is because it is too expensive. It does cost money to keep someone alive and in prison, but it is nothing compared to the death penalty. Yes, if you keep a criminal alive, you have to provide health care, food, and other things such as dentist care. When a case involves the death penalty as punishment, it also involves lethal …show more content…
The death penalty is not a fast procedure nor cheap. “Despite extraordinary efforts by the courts and enormous expense to taxpayers, the modern death penalty remains slow, costly and uncertain” (Von Drehle). Not only is the money spent on lethal injections, but also on lawyers. Every trial that involves capital punishment, includes a lawyer, judge, more potential jurors, more witnesses, and more appeals. A lot of money is spent on these things. Some people think that it is more expensive to keep a criminal alive, and that’s actually not true. “In fact, in Furman, Justice Marshall recognized that ‘when all is said and done, there can be no doubt that it costs more to execute a man than to keep him in prison for life”’ (McLaughlin). Even though the death penalty has existed for a long time now, crimes keep …show more content…
While some hold that a strict reading of certain texts forbids executions, others point to various verses of the New Testament which seem to endorse the death penalty 's use. Many read the Passion narratives in the Gospels as a condemnation of capital punishment because of the execution of Jesus, whom Christians regard as innocent and an example of executing the innocent. Not only Christians believed that, also the Catholics believed that capital punishment is wrong. In an article called “On Cruelty,” the author talks about it is wrong to have capital punishment, but it is not wrong at the same time if the murderer keeps killing
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
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.
Even the worst crimes should not be paid with the simple escape of death. The death penalty costs far more than a life sentence, though it seems like the opposite would be true. With the multiple appeals and trials and relocations, it’s millions down the drain. According to deathpenalty.org it costs taxpayers $90,000 more a year to maintain a death row prisoner versus maintaining a prisoner in general population. Add in the cost of execution depending on the method, $24 million for each electrocution in Florida, at least $86 per lethal injection, around $25,000 for a fire squad execution,(deathpenaltyinfo.org) and it’s even more for a quick end.
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 ...
Life in prison without the possibility of parole offers satisfaction to victims and their loved ones. The death penalty is a very lengthy process and can take years to reach a verdict, which causes more distress to effected families. Michael J. Wilkins, a state supreme court justice, has had history with the death penalty and says, “Based on our experience, a sentence of life without parole may be less expensive to the state, more miserable for the guilty, and more certain for the victims and society.” Life in prison without parole is considered a sentence to death in incarceration. Life in prison without parole is actually a cheaper route for the tax payer, where judicial cases without the death penalty costs tax payers $740,000, meanwhile judicial cases there the death penalty is used costs tax payers $1,260,000. If we stopped practicing the death penalty, we could fund extra hundreds of millions of dollars into services that need it more. The death penalty essentially costs too much and delivers nothing, while life in prison without parole is a severe and solid
Thus, many groups of people are involved in a death penalty case. However, other also equally important factors are also involved, such as money and time. Each state varies in amount expended towards death penalty and life imprisonment. However, in Texas, the state with the highest capital punishment rates in the United States alone, it is stated that each individual in a death penalty case “costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years.” This is one detail that those opposing death penalty implement in their argument to abolish said act. Another factor is time invested in these cases. Most death penalty cases range from 6 to 10 years, factoring death row and other complications. Thus, the more time invested in determining guilt or innocence, the more money of taxpayers are being consumed. However, as depleting as it is, there is a good reason for. They take so long because they are trying to avoid as many mistakes as possible, meaning they don’t wanted to convict or even worse execute an innocent person wrongly accused or framed for a
Our criminal justice system's use of the death penalty appears increasingly void of rationale when we consider the other prices we pay. Executions take up to fifteen years or longer (Walker 1994, 106).
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 is wrong and disturbing. It is very expensive and it is not even
While one person lays with their wrists circumscribed to the worn leather of the gurney, another person holds two skin-piercing needles. The individual holding the needles is an inexperienced technician who obtains permission from the United States federal government to murder people. One needle is held as a precaution in case the pain is too visible to the viewers. Another dagger filled with a lethal dosage of chemicals is inserted into the vein that causes the person to stop breathing. When the cry of the heart rate monitor becomes monotone, the corrupt procedure is complete. Lying in the chair is a corpse when moments ago it was an individual who made one fatal mistake that will never get the chance to redeem (Ecenbarger). Although some people believe that the death
Not only that, but some states that don’t have the death penalty have lower crime rates than those that do. In my opinion, the death penalty should be abolished due to many purposeful reasons including: financial costs, the process slowing down the court system, life in prison being far more effective, the possibility of convicting and killing an innocent person, and violating the “cruel and unusual” punishment clause. According to balancepolitics.org, it costs two to five times more than keeping that same criminal in prison for life. The reasons for such high financial costs are the endless appeals, additional procedures, legal processes, paying people, lawyer costs, and even the execution itself based on which type. Not only do the financial costs affect the state, but it affects the taxpayers.
Many people, including some higher educated people, tend to believe that executing someone is a lot cheaper than the alternative, which is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Indeed, this thought seems like common sense. However, extensive research has been conducted that contradicts that belief. For instance, a study conducted in Maryland, in 2008, found that the state spends roughly 1.9 million dollars more per capital case, compared to non-capital cases (Warden, 2009). But how can this be some may ask. Well, the reason capital punishment costs more than life without the possibility of parole, is because death penalty cases are longer and more expensive. Because the capital punishment is an irreversible sentence, the state, or government, is required to heighten the defendant’s due process in order to decrease the chance of the defendant being innocent (DPIC). Furthermore, not only is it more expensive for the trial phase, it is also a higher price for a state to imprison death row inmates compared to other
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.
A prisoner serving the rest of their life in prison is no longer a threat to society. Capital crimes costs are significantly higher to investigate and prosecute than regular crimes. The cost does not end at the end of convictions the price tag increases when the cost of appeals to state appellate courts, state habeas corpus proceedings, and appeals to federal courts. The court proceeding often goes on for years. “Since 1978 the state of California has executed 13 people. It cost the state $4 billion: about $308 million per execution. A recent study reports that California spends an additional $184 million per year to support the death penalty (McConnell,2014)”. One can raise the question could the taxpayer's money have been better spent on finding a solution to the problems that cause murderers to take lives. Problems like poverty, drug
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.