The death penalty is one of the most controversial issues we have in our country today. The people are divided between supporting and opposing the death penalty. The supporters would say that it is a deterrent for future crimes. They would also say that taxpayer dollars are not going to pay for the care of these individuals. The opposition would say that the cost of the death penalty is actually higher than the cost of a life sentence. They also find that the deterrent argument is debatable. (meggiem, 2012) There is evidence that contradicts the supporters’ claims.
First, there is evidence that suggests that the death penalty costs more than a life sentence. Take a look at what goes into the death penalty for the state of California. Death penalty trials take on average about two years, starting from arraignment to verdict. (Magagnini, 1988) The cost of a death penalty trial is around $592,500. That is almost six times more than that of a murder trial, which is $93,000.(Magagnini, 1988) Death penalty trials cost around $7,500 per day for 79 days on average. Standard murder cases cost around $6,200 per day and last around 15 days on average. (Magagnini, 1988) Also, that’s state spends around $2.8 million for death row inmates’ special housing. $1.8 million for prosecution on appeal, and $7.6 million defending condemned prisoners on appeal. Overall, it costs about $90 million a year for the death penalty. (Magagnini, 1988) Also there are the federal costs, on average it is 1,000 hours of attorney time which translates to about $75,000 from the taxpayers. (Magagnini, 1988)
Another argument the supporters like to throw around is that the death penalty is a deterrent for future crimes. Well, there is evidence to contradict that. The D...
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...ember 20, 2013, from American Civil Liberties Union: https://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/case-against-death-penalty
Booth, M. (2013, June 3). No credible evidence on whether death penalty deters, experts say. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from The Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_23374844/no-credible-evidence-whether-death-penalty-deters-experts
Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). Innocence: List of those freed from Death Row. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from Death Penalty Information Center: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-list-those-freed-death-row
Magagnini, S. (1988, March 28). Closing Death Row Would Save State $90 Million a Year. The Sacramento Bee , 5. meggiem. (2012, March 31). The Death Penalty Pros and Cons. Retrieved November 18, 2013, from Pro/Con Lists: http://www.proconlists.com/list/government-politics/the-death-penalty/9
“Florida, for example, spent between $25 million and $50 million more per year on capital cases than it would have to if all murderers received life without parole.” (Fagan 3) The comparison of how much money just the state of Florida could be saving if they opted out of capital punishment is astounding. If that is just how much money could be saved per year in one state, the entire country could benefit from stopping executions over a long period of time. It is obvious the US could save much more money by getting rid of capital punishment vs keeping it. The national debt is always a huge hot topic, and this offers a real solution to a part of that problem. This claim shows my thesis is correct because this article shows how much of an impact (money wise) capital punishment is causing by costing the states in America so much tax money. The millions that would be saved by abolishing this outdated punishment could be put to much better use, for example, things like “education, roads, police officers and public safety programs, after-school programs, drug and alcohol treatment, child abuse prevention programs, mental health services, and services for crime victims and their families.” (The Death Penalty
Based on public opinion and facts of this side, “the death penalty process consumes tremendous amounts of money and resources and fails to deter criminal activity” (Ballaro and Cushman, 2016). The people do not want to see tax money squandered on such a fruitless endeavor, instead send the person to jail for life and be done with it. The people believe this view even more so, because of the belief that putting a murderer to death is, in fact, a hypocritical act and makes a murder out of the system and all who played a role in doing so, making the prosecutors no better than the convicted. While the death penalty prevents one murderer from killing again, it created countless more proving that the capital punishment is a useless deterrent all in all. This point of view and belief is the opposing side’s view to capital punishment’s acting as a
Radelet, Michael L., and Ronald L. Akers. "Deterrence And The Death Penalty: the Views Of The Experts[*]." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 87.1 (1996): 1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.
Narration: Opponents of the death penalty believe it is an ineffective way to stop crime and that there are better ways to punish crime and keep society safe.
"The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
Rogers, Christopher. The Death Penalty. 20 April 1999. Justice For All. 19 April 2001. www.prodeathpenalty.com.
... the Fair Administration of Justice, abolishing the death penalty would save the state $125.5 million per year [15]. This money could be used for social programs that help deter young people from a life of crime or drugs. It could also be spent to improve the public school system, the public transit system, and similar basic governmental services. Or we could follow the footsteps of New Jersey, and use the money as restitution to the families of the murder victims [16]. The possibilities are endless.
"The Case Against the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation., 2011. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.
Opponents argues that the death penalty does not deterrent individuals from committing crimes. However, there are evidence that death penalty saves lives. Opponents wants us to believe that criminals are unable to rationally make right or wrong choices. According to the rationality choice theory, human behavior are based on self-interest and rational choices about effective ways to accomplish goals with ...
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
“Facts about the Death Penalty.” Deathpenaltyinfo.org. 26 Jan 2011. Death Penalty Information Center. 31 Jan 2011. Web.
Death penalty supporters believe that capital punishment is the only sure way to deter murderers from committing murders again. “The argument that murderers are the least likely of all criminals to repeat their crimes is not only irrelevant, but also increasingly false. Six percent of young adults paroled in 1978 after having been convicted of murder were arrested for murder again with six years of release” (Death Penalty Paper).
The death penalty has always been and continues to be a very controversial issue. People on both sides of the issue argue endlessly to gain further support for their movements. While opponents of capital punishment are quick to point out that the United States remains one of the few Western countries that continue to support the death penalty, Americans are also more likely to encounter violent crime than citizens of other countries (Brownlee 31). Justice mandates that criminals receive what they deserve. The punishment must fit the crime. If a burglar deserves imprisonment, then a murderer deserves death (Winters 168). The death penalty is necessary and the only punishment suitable for those convicted of capital offenses. Seventy-five percent of Americans support the death penalty, according to Turner, because it provides a deterrent to some would-be murderers and it also provides for moral and legal justice (83). "Deterrence is a theory: It asks what the effects are of a punishment (does it reduce the crime rate?) and makes testable predictions (punishment reduces the crime rate compared to what it would be without the credible threat of punishment)", (Van Den Haag 29). The deterrent effect of any punishment depends on how quickly the punishment is applied (Workshop 16). Executions are so rare and delayed for so long in comparison th the number of capitol offenses committed that statistical correlations cannot be expected (Winters 104). The number of potential murders that are deterred by the threat of a death penalty may never be known, just as it may never be known how many lives are saved with it. However, it is known that the death penalty does definitely deter those who are executed. Life in prison without the possibility of parole is the alternative to execution presented by those that consider words to be equal to reality. Nothing prevents the people sentenced in this way from being paroled under later laws or later court rulings. Furthermore, nothing prevents them from escaping or killing again while in prison. After all, if they have already received the maximum sentence available, they have nothing to lose. For example, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court banished the death penalty. Like other states, Texas commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. After being r...
Rubin, P. H. (2009). Don't scrap the death penalty. Criminology & Public Policy, 8(4), 853-859.
The death penalty is an economically wasteful method of punishment. It has been calculated that “if the death penalty was extinguished…we could save $11 million a year” (Locke). While this may not seem a significant sum, ...