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Death penalty decrease crime rate
Controversy surrounding the death penalty
Controversy surrounding the death penalty
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The death penalty seems to be a very debatable subject. There are arguments and support for both sides of the debate, but which side is right? That is a tough question to ask. After reading the article in the textbook, two other articles, and looking at statistics, I seem to feel that the death penalty may not be the right answer.
The article in the textbook The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide was fairly informative. One of the points it brought up was the cost of life without parole vs the death penalty, and those costs were stated as life without parole costing 1.1 million dollars vs the death penalty costing 3 million dollars (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009 pg 176). This is a significant difference in price. The text states that a main factor in this cost is the cost of appeals that are awarded to those convicted and sentenced to death (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 176). With just this factor it would seem more logical to just house the prisoner for life, as it would eliminate the costs of appeals. Another good point brought up in the article was the fairness of those being prosecuted in death penalty cases, it states that a lot of defendants in these cases are poor and may not have the resources to have an appropriate defense (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 177). I could see this; if you cannot afford a good lawyer you may not get the best defense possible, and the text states that since the introduction of DNA 15 death row inmates were exonerated due to DNA evidence proving that they did not commit the crime (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 177). After reading these points I wanted to look at more information, as the text did state that the death penalty could serve as a deterrent for people to not commit viole...
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...ution is the right example. You don't solve violence by committing violence.” Justice Louis E. Brandeis (Bonner, Raymond and Fessenden, Ford, 2008). While the death penalty does serve as a way of punishing those who have committed homicide, it also seems to be a way of enacting revenge on the accused. There are cases that may seem that the punishment of death is warranted, but we must look at the statistic to see if this punishment would be a deterrent to prevent this type of crime from happening again.
Works Cited
Bonner, Raymond and Fessenden, Ford, ABSENCE OF EXECUTIONS: A special report.; States With No Death Penalty Share Lower Homicide Rates, 2000
Death Penalty Informantion Center, Murder Rates Nationally and By State, 2010
Schaefer,Richard T, Sociology a Brief Introduction, pgs 175-177, The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide, 2009
Radelet, Michael L. and Borg, Marian J. “The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates.” Annual Sociology Review. 2000: 43-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 November 2013.
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
Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.
It's dark and cold, the fortress-like building has cinderblock walls, and death lurks around the perimeter. A man will die tonight. Under the blue sky, small black birds gather outside the fence that surrounds the building to flaunt their freedom. There is a gothic feel to the scene, as though you have stepped into a horror movie.
...ed United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment. Washington: GPO, 1994 Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America. Rowman, 1996 NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996 "Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges." USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A "Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 1999 23 Oct. 1999 Gest, Ted. "House Without a Blue Print." US News and World Report 8 Jul. 1996: 41 Stevens, Michelle. "Unfairness in Life and Death." Chicago Sun-Times 7 Feb. 1999: 23A American Bar Association. The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics. 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. Washington: GPO, 1994 Wickham, DeWayne. "Call for a Death Penalty Moratorium." USA Today 8 Feb. 1999: 17A ILKMURPHY
The death penalty is something that many people do not have a clear decision on. Many people support the death penalty, while others wish for the death penalty to be abolished, and there are some that support the death penalty, but only in certain cases. My personal opinion on the death penalty is it should be administered only in cases of particularly
Mappes, Thomas A., Jane S. Zembaty, and David DeGrazia. "The Death Penalty." Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 105-53. Print.
Death Penalty Information Center (n.d.). Deterrence: states without the death penalty have had consistently low murder rates. Retrieved February 8, 2011 from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-states-without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower-murder-rates
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
One of society’s main questions today is how can we lower the rates of these heinous crimes in our country. The answer is giving them the highest consequence for their crime: death. Although people have argued that issuing the death penalty does not deter crime, there is a significant amount of evidence to prove it HAS lowered crimes such as murder.
The most widely used argument in support of capital punishment is that the consequence of execution influences criminal behavior more effectively than imprisonment does (Amnesty International). Although the argument may sound reasonable, in reality the death penalty fails as a deterrent. The punishment can only be a useful deterrent if it is rational and immediately used. Capital punishment cannot meet those conditions. The number of first degree murderers who are sentenced to death is small, and of this group an even smaller number of people are eventually executed. The possibility of increasing the number of convicted murderers sentenced to death and executed is declining because mandatory death sentences were declared unconstitutional in 1976 (NCADP). Murder and o...
Pasquerella, Lynn. “The Death Penalty in the United States.” The Study Circle Resource Center of Topsfield Foundation. July 1991. Topsfield Foundation. 03 Feb 2011. Web.
The death penalty has been around for a long time now. Its purpose was to lower the crime rates and to make people feel protected again. It also served as a completed vengeance in order to have closure. But is it right? Is it really accurate like the system thinks it is? The death penalty should be abolished for several reasons.
Van Den Haag, Earnest, and John Conrad. The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.
Retribution should be taken for the violent crimes that are committed. Justice means that criminals get what they deserve. The punishment must fit the crime.