The world has been a scarier place to live with the increasing crime rates. Tough punishments and financial bail are being implemented to reduce the criminal acts. Capital punishment, or the death penalty is the harshest available government punishment for the big crimes like murder, terrorism, and others. Historically, Capital Punishment has been used in almost every parts of the world. Currently, the large majority of countries have either abolished or discontinued the practice. Several countries like Iraq, Pakistan, North Korea, China, and the USA retain the death penalty in both law and practice. It is legal in thirty-one states and illegal in nineteen states in the United States of America. Capital punishment has always been a debatable …show more content…
The other side says that the victims get justice when the felon is punished with death, and their families are consoled as death is the ultimate punishment. However, capital punishment only continues the violence. The only thing that matters to the victims is to get their loved one back, which the death of the criminal cannot do. Also, the death penalty process is traumatizing for them and they regret being involved in the process because it reopens their wounds after years. The death penalty does not help according to 63 family members of murder victims who stated in a letter to the New Jersey legislature:
We are family members and loved ones of murder victims. We desperately miss the parents, children, siblings, and spouses we have lost. We live with the pain and heartbreak of their absence every day and would do anything to have them back. We have been touched by the criminal justice system in ways we never imagined and would never wish on anyone. Our experience compels us to speak out for the change. Though we share different perspectives on the death penalty, every one of us agrees that New Jersey’s capital punishment system does not work, and that our state is better off without it (Cromie and Zott
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One cannot deny that maintaining the prisoners with food, health care and other basic needs is expensive, but the long and complex judicial process makes the capital punishment more expensive. The cost of defense and prosecution of the prisoner with the death penalty is almost three times higher than that of non- death penalty prisoner. Each year, hundreds of million dollars are spent on the death penalty cases which could be better be used in providing support to the victims’ families. It also directly affects the economy of government. The cost of death penalty are different according to the states, California being the most expensive state. According to the fact sheet organized by Death Penalty Information Center, the cost of the death penalty in California has totaled over four billion dollars since 1978 and if the Governor commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life parole, it would result in an immediate savings of 170 million dollars per year, with the savings of 5 billion dollars over the next 20 years (“Costs of Death Penalty”, 2010). Besides that, the provision death penalty is discriminated against the poor because they cannot afford effective, high powered lawyers. Hundreds of people are put to death across the USA every year, the evidence suggests that the poorest are paying the highest price. A study found that the average cost of defending a
Notwithstanding issues of morality, the death penalty process of California is financially inefficient and ineffective. At the current rate of executions, “it would take 1,600 years to execute everybody on death row.” [The Death of the American Death Penalty, 122] The average delay in implementing a death sentence calculates out to be 25 years, at an added cost of $90,000 per year over normal incarceration. [Guy, 2] This is a “premium that currently totals more than $60 million a year” [Guy, 2]. When you take the added costs of death row incarceration and total them up with the additional costs of prosecution and the handling of the many legal appeals death row inmates are entitled to, the unnecessary amount of spending is significant. We could eliminate “$126 million a year” in additional costs by simply sentencing death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. [Guy, 2] Because of the afo...
Although the death penalty alone cannot bring back the life of those who have been murdered, it can serve as ultimate justice for the victims and their families. The deterrence of the death penalty can save lives. While opinions abound on both sides of the fence, in the use of the death penalty on juveniles, no one can argue with the fact that the voices of those murdered cannot be heard. Juveniles may not have fully developed brains, as Raeburn argues, but this is not an adequate excuse to dismiss the death penalty. American society cannot afford to babysit murderers, nor can they rehabilitate them. The end of the innocence begins when an innocent life is taken, and the sanctity of life is held defenseless.
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.
According to the Death Penalty Center “cases without the death penalty cost $740,000, while cases where the death penalty is sought cost $1.26 million”. This is a lot of money to execute someone. Our government could use that money to fund different projects and help better our communities by building research centers or more libraries. Also, as the Law Dictionary states, “the average cost of housing an inmate in the U.S is $31,286 in 2012”. This is not a lot of money considering that it cost “$1.26 million” just to execute someone. Our government could save a lot of money by sentencing prisoners to life in prison without parole. The government can use this money to offer more public transportation. According to Prison Policy Initiative, “the amount that California could save $90 million per year by abolishing capital punishment”. California could use this money to fund their criminal enforcement task force to protect citizens and keep the state safer. Taxpayers shouldn’t pay an increasing amount of tax to execute someone when they should be lawfully punished in a cheaper and moral
Many say that the cost is not a reason to end the death penalty, and that regardless of the high price, it is necessary. Some say without question that over time life without parole cases cost more than death penalty cases (Top 2 of 4). This is because these prisoners have to be paid to be taken care of for many years whereas the death penalty inmates spend less time in prison. A multitude of studies have stated that death penalty cases cost more than life without parole cases, however “Justice for All estimates that LWOP cases will cost $1.2 million-$3.6 million more than equivalent death penalty cases.” The way the person is executed is one of the biggest factors that accounts for the considerable cost of the death penalty. Other methods of execution exist that are cheaper such as hanging and then re-using the rope or having a firing squad using volunteered guns (Does 2 of 5). It has also been said that if the steps of the execution are handled properly and effectively, that the cost of execution is less than caring for a murderer for life. In th...
“Our position… is that there is no place for capital punishment… We believe that justice for all is better served by a sentence of life imprisonment.”(Szumski 170) The administration of Capital punishment in the United States has been a failed experiment. Capital punishment or “The death penalty” is the legally authorized killing of a human being as punishment for a crime. The entire process of Capital punishment is fraught with error, since 1973, over 87 inmates have been released from death row due to their innocence being proven. (Blecker, 12) Capital punishment attacks the poor, as well as the black community. For the worst crimes, life without parole is better. Not only is the death penalty discriminatory and unethical, it violates the
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
With the cost of the death penalty trial’s and incarceration, the death penalty is significantly much more expensive than the cost of life in prison. First, Trials alone during a death penalty case are one of the main reasons why the death penalty process is so expensive. For example, a twenty four year old man, Dennis Alvarez, was convicte...
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
While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that capital punishment is being used for vengeance or as a deterrent. Capital punishment has been used worldwide, not only by the governments to instill fear, but to show that there are repercussions to ones actions. From the time we are born, we are taught to learn the difference between right and wrong. It is ingrained in our brains, what happens to people that do bad things? Capital punishment is renowned for being the worst thing that could be brought amongst ones life.
The key issues involve whether the U.S. should sustain the current death penalty system, abolish it in favor of life in prison without parole plus restitution, or only reform the system to make it less costly and free of class, racial, and mental illness discrepancies. Many people have a stake in the issue. Organizations such as Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union are against the death penalty because they claim it is a cruel and unusual form of punishment, while other groups such as the National Center for Policy Analysis support the death penalty because they believe that life sentences do not deter homicide. Furthermore, victims’ families have a stake in the issue because they deserve justice for their murdered loved ones, and convicted murders have a stake because their own lives are in jeopardy as they sit on death row. Most importantly, all the citizens of the United States are involved in the matter, since the way in which we punish crime affects public safety.
Capital punishment is a custom in which prisoners are executed in accordance with judicial practice when they are convicted of committing a “capital crime.” Capital crimes are crimes considered so atrocious that they should be punishable by death. This may be done as an act of retribution, to ensure that the individual cannot commit future crimes, and/or as a deterrent for potential criminals. The practice is regarded as extremely controversial and is intensely debated around the world. Supporters may argue that a serious crime deserves an equally serious punishment, while opponents say that this is revenge rather than punishment. The judicial decree that someone be punished in this manner is a death sentence, while the actual process of killing the person is an execution. Crimes whose outcome is the death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. In the past, many countries have practiced capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, over two-thirds of the countries in the world – 139 – have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. 58 nations continue to practice it while eight have eradicated it for ordinary crimes, only maintaining it for special circumstances. The death penalty...
Capital Punishment is defined as the legal infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty is corporal punishment in its most severe form and is used instead of life long imprisonment. Putting people to death that have committed extremely terrible crimes is an ancient practice, but it has become a very controversial issue in today's society. Capital punishment has been used for centuries, even the Bible contains over thirty stories or incidents about a person put to death for a crime they committed. Public executions stopped after 1936. The death penalty has been inflicted in many different ways. Today in the United States, there are five ways that the death penalty is performed. These criminals are put to death by a lethal injection, electrocution, lynching, a firing squad, or the gas chamber. These punishments are much less severe than the forms of execution in the past. In the past, people were executed by crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearing, stoning, and even drowning. The methods used today compared to those of history are not meant for torture but instead for punishment for heinous crimes and to rid the earth of these dangerous people. The majority of America supports the death penalty.
capital punishment? With receiving life without parole the person has no chance of release by a parole board, even with good behavior. However, life sentences gives an inmate family and lawyer time to prove their innocence if they did not commit a crime. The wrongful execution of an innocent person is an injustice that can never be rectified. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty, 154 cases where men and women have been released from Death Row nationally, some only minutes away from execution. Inmates sentenced to capital punishment in recent years have had the privilege to get freedom due to the improvement of technology and how DNA evidence can prove they did not commit the crime. For example, my uncle who was sentenced to capital murder had evidence that could be tested for his DNA. During his trial evidence proved that his DNA was on none of the evidence presented but he had potential eye witness to identify him. The eye witnessed were paid friends of the other suspect involved in the crime. The witnesses later came back after his conviction and revealed they were paid and they lied about the stories. He was later executed but was never given a free chance to prove his innocence. It can be conceded that, if the maximum sentence an inmate could be given it could help free more innocent people. Supporters of the capital punishment feel it is beneficial because if a person kills someone they should be
Capital punishment is the punishment of death for a crime given by the state. It is used for a variety of crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and treason. Many countries also have the death penalty for sexual crimes such as rape, incest and adultery. The lethal injection, the electric chair, hanging and stoning are all methods of execution used throughout the world. Capital punishment has been around since ancient times; it was used in ancient Rome, and one of the most famous people to be crucified was Jesus Christ. Capital punishment is now illegal in many countries, like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, but it is also legal in many other countries such as China and the USA. There is a large debate on whether or not capital punishment should be illegal all over the world as everyone has a different opinion on it. In this essay, I will state arguments for and against the death penalty, as well as my own opinion: capital punishment should be illegal everywhere.