Without capital punishment we would have an overflow in state and federal prisons. The overflow causes lots of problems such as the cost of feeding and health care for inmates. The death penalty is a major deterrence, which helps prevent criminals from committing certain crimes. And finally retribution, which can be, summed up in an a couple words “an eye for an eye.” I agree with capital punishment because of the cost, deterrence, and retribution. Cost is one of the major issues with the death penalty. Money is not an unlimited resource, we will eventually run out. A state analysis “The costs of the death penalty in Indiana found the average cost to a county for a trial and direct appeal in a capital case was over ten times more than a life-without-parole case. The average capital case resulting in a death sentence cost $449,887, while the average cost of case in which a life-without-parole sentence was sought and achieved was only $42,658.” The average time spent on death row is over 12 years, and they have endless appeals and delays, which average 3 to 8 weeks per appeal, that why the process is so long. We spend more money on our inmates then we do with any other groups such as the old, the young that needed help, and the sick. Last year we spend 167,731 dollars per inmate. Deterrence is the use of punishment as a threat to deter people from committing crimes. It is hard to prove if the death penalty actually deters people because there are only a few executions every year. Ernest van den Haag, a Professor of Jurisprudence at Fordham University who has studied the question of deterrence closely, wrote: "Even though statistical demonstrations are not conclusive, and perhaps cannot be, capital punishment is likely to deter mo... ... middle of paper ... ...round 3.2 million per execution! This includes all the trials and everything else. This objection ties into the first one because you have to think about the family. They are getting put through this torture and mourning over and over again with every trial that takes place so your not just costing tax payers more but your also making the mourning process of the criminals family longer which can cause psychological problems. With capital punishment your hurting everyone not just the criminal and the family because they are the only ones paying for all the trials and everything the taxpayers are. Works Cited "Deterrence (In Support of the Death Penalty)." Deterrence (In Support of the Death Penalty). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. "Retribution (In Support of the Death Penalty)." Retribution (In Support of the Death Penalty). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
Unlike popular belief, the cost of sentencing someone to death is actually more expensive than a life sentence in prison. In Washington, since the death penalty was reinstated 5 people have been put to death costing taxpayers roughly $120 million, that's roughly $24 million per case (Seattle University, 2015). A reason that people advocate strongly for the death penalty is because they believe that they should not have to pay for the costs to keep criminals fed, sheltered and imprisoned. In fact, 56% of Canadians surveyed believed that the one time cost of a lethal injection is cheaper and will allow their money to go towards something more advantageous like healthcare or education (Angus Reid). This is actually quite different from the truth, in fact is estimated that it costs $740 000 on average to put someone in prison for life. It is also estimated that it costs roughly $1.26 million to sentence someone to death (Seattle University, 2015). (There seems to be a discrepancy between how much a single case costs and how much Washington spent since the death penalty has been reinstated, but I could not find evidence to why that is). Among the reasons why the death penalty is so expensive is the fact that the time in courts is quite lengthy. Jury trials averaged 40.13 days in cases where the death penalty was being sought, but only 16.79 days
..."Justice Is Not Served with the Death Penalty." The Death Penalty. Ed. Jenny Cromie and Lynn M. Zott. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Road to Justice and Peace." blog.nj.com 2 Feb. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weak and deficient. A common misconception of the death penalty is that the cost to execute a convicted criminal is cheaper than to place a convict in prison for life without parole. Due to the United States judicial system, the process of appeals, which is inevitable with cases involving death as the sentence, incurs an extreme cost and is very time consuming. The cost of a capital trial and execution can be two to six times greater than the amount of money needed to house and feed a prisoner for life. "Studies show incarceration costs roughly $20,000 per inmate per year ($800,000 if a person lives 40 years in prison). Research also shows a death-penalty ease costs roughly $2 million per execution," (Kaplan 2). Capital punishment is extremely expensive and depletes state governments of money that could be used for a wide range of programs that are beneficial. As Belolyn Wiliams-Harold, an author for the journal Black Enterprise, writes that county governments are typically responsible for the costs of prosecution and the costs of the criminal trial, including attorney's fees, and salaries for the members of the courtroom. All this money is spent at the expense of the corrections department and crime prevention programs, which are already is strapped for cash (Williams-Harlod 1). These "financial constraints," such as capital punishment, do not promote a healthy, commercial society, but actually cost and harm the public.
Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. “Capital Punishment.” Our Duty or Our Doom. 12 May 2010. 30 May 2010 .
Costs vary ranging from an additional twenty-five thousand dollars to as high as One million dollars. This is astronomical coming from a nation in debt. We either need to figure out a way that allows the people save money on putting people to death who break society 's rules then leech money away or we need to stop it all together. This would be the only logical reason to prevent the death penalty from being implemented, but as shown above there are lackluster aspects to the system. Even when a decision is made our government doesn’t take the best coarse of action when trying to follow through on the
...ng prisoners on death row alone costs 90,000 dollars a year for housing and staffing extra guards.(3) Thirteen years is the average time a person will spend on death row so that is slightly over a million dollars that will be spent on one person coming out of the taxpayers money. Even the morally ambiguous are being affected by the decision to keep this practice in place. In any era, even outside the economic downturn our country is facing right now, that is too much money to throwing down the toilet.
to put them on the death penalty. The downfall of capital punishment is that sometimes innocent individuals get put to death, and the cost. Cases without the death penalty cost $740,000, while cases where the death penalty is required cost $1.26 million (Bruck). Maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population. Even though there are two downfalls, it is the better option for mass killers.
Narration: Proponents believe that the death penalty is an effective way to stop crime. They believe that the death penalty is a deterrent, so this should mean if the death penalty is the consequence then people will think twice about committing a crime that could result in the death penalty.
"The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
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
Many who disagree with the death penalty believe it is immoral, discriminates, is very expensive, increases crime, and is only a way to carry out revenge. This, however, is not true. Capital punishment should be legal because it is moral, by not allowing criminals to roam the streets once again. It does not discriminate against those of color or the poor, and is actually less expensive than life imprisonment. The most important reason why the death penalty should be legal is because it deters crime.
...ent person on death row. There have been several cases that evidence were proven to exonerate death row inmates. Also with pre trial expenses, expert witnesses, and other expenses involving a death penalty case, it would cost more of a tax payers money to execute prisoners than to imprison them for life. And also to me, I think its far worse to be imprisoned for life than to be executed. I feel that criminals should pay the price by living in a prison cell for the rest of their life.
The death penalty deters murder. The death penalty is the best way to stop a killer from killing someone else. Some say that prison is enough, but it isn’t. Death is necessary because if they are only sent to prison there is always the risk that some day the same killer that brutally killed a 5-year old or raped and strangle a college student might return to the streets.
Capital punishment is necessary in order for justice to prevail. Capital punishment is the execution of criminals for committing crimes that is in regard as so bad that death is the only acceptable punishment. Capital punishment servers to lower the murder rate, but also has value as a form of retribution. Its fairness is determined by the judicial system. As a form of punishment, it saves money when compared to a life sentence.
However, on the other hand, to execute death penalty is also costly. In the article, “Death Penalty Is Too Expensive for States, Study Find”, Warren Richey mentioned about the cost of death penalty. For example, in the article, he said “New York spent $170 million over nine years on capital cases before repealing the death penalty. No executions were carried out there. New Jersey spent $253 million over 25 years with no executions.” He also menti...