The United States Should Legalize The Death Penalty

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Normally when one commits a crime, they are sentenced to a certain amount of time in prison. Depending on the crime, the judge will sentence that person to a number of days, weeks, months, or even a lifetime. Though, when pertaining to murder, terrorism, large-scale drug trafficking, or attempting to kill a witness, the death penalty is often considered. The United States should allow the death penalty because it is potent and ceases crime. The death penalty should be allowed because it deters crime and costs less than life imprisonment. Criminals seem to respond to sanctions such as this one. According to Paul H. Rubin, a professor of Economics at Emory University, “… capital punishment and homicide has created a consensus among most economists who have studied the issue that capital punishment deters crime.” When the public is aware of capital punishment, criminals respond because the fear of arrest, punishment, and/or prosecution is persuasive. Compared to someone who is sentenced to life in prison, the death penalty costs more. For example, in Kansas, cases without the death penalty (life in prison) cost $740,000, while the cases with the death penalty cost nearly $1.26 million. Though there is a significant difference between the two, life in prison cases are …show more content…

While being similar to the persuasion of capital punishment, the death penalty can save lives because murders can be prevented. The New York Times reports that for each inmate put to death by execution, three to eighteen murders are prevented. Though this is quite a large margin, it is yet another murder stopped, and another life saved and unthreatened. Local, state, and federal officials must continue to ensure that the effect of the death penalty supports and defends constitutional protections. This would help guarantee equal protection of the law; every citizen would be allowed the equal privileges, rights, and

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