Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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One of the most common arguments made by the anti-death penalty institutions is that the innocent have been executed. There is little proof that people have been executed innocent in the present with our current forensics. Another factor to take into account is that forensic technology will only continue to improve as time goes by. One example is the development of the DNA sample which has been used to prove multiple criminals to be in fact criminals. One of the DNA profiling was used on Richard Buckland who was accused of raping and strangling to death, Dawn Ashworth. He was pressured to admitting the crime through interrogation even though officials were told he had learning difficulties. Utilizing blood samples of Buckland and semen of the …show more content…

The cost of the DP is “10 times more expensive to kill them than to keep them alive” (Robertson, 29). They believe that the felons charged guilty will tend to have more cases in order to appeal their sentence. These appeals will consume more hours on court staff, public defenders, and court-appointed which means more money is being taken away from the taxpayers. Due to more appeals occurring, the death penalty will also require more attorneys that are considered “death penalty certified” (Robertson, 30) which results in highers costs. This number is very exaggerated considering that “the death penalty will have ten times more investigation cost, defense and prosecution cost, including court time, guilt/innocence stage, sentencing stage, and appellate review time and cost than DP equivalent LWOP case” (Robertson, 30). It should not be possible for the gap of the death penalty to be 10 times more expensive because that infers that everything would have to also be 10 times more active. The cost combined would mean the prices would not increase by 10 times, but be over 100 times in cost. This claim made by anti-death penalty groups is ridiculous and impossible. Robertson argues the LWOP can be proven of its high expenses compared to the DP if you considered the death penalty related to murder, the average time for them to be incarcerated before execution is 15 years vs. 50 years of LWOP. Not only that, but …show more content…

The reason that people try to escape the prison is due to poor treatment, horrible facilities, and everyday violence. Prisoners are treated like animals. They are locked in their cells, and can freely wander about during scheduled times. In order to isolate these criminals for a lifetime is more inhumane than to kill them swiftly. The DP is used so that criminals do not have to suffer this humiliation for the rest of their lives. Prisoners live in a constant struggle to survive their suffering of being raped and facing violence in their prison cell. Comparing to a terrorist such as Osama Bin Laden, which choice would he rather pick: to live a life full of humiliation until they die or being “martyred” by the capital punishment? It’s society’s role to punish these convicts, but not to torture them as these actions dehumanizes who they are. The role of the prison is to contain criminals, not to torture or humiliate them. Being sent to prison with LWOP is already a harsh punishment because they will no longer be able to integrate with society ever again. When the court sentences a person to life in prison, what does that mean? Is the court punishing them by sentencing the felon to be humiliated, tortured, and raped? If not, the judge should just say the punishment instead of people assuming that it includes torture and humiliation. The judgement should be taken literally and the criminal is not sentenced to

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