capital

I will be the first to admit that there are people in this world that has done some pretty terrible things. Maybe to themselves or to other people! Even though those people may have no remorse over the things they have done us as human beings have to be the ones to say when enough is enough. The history of the death penalty is a long and brutal one. From the stoning and crucifixion killings of the B.C. era to today’s methods of the electric chair and lethal injection, governments of one kind or another have sentenced people to death for thousands of years [CA Innocence Project, 2009]. It’s simply a disciplinary act that needs to be eliminated. Wouldn’t it be more efficient for Guilty people to sit in jail and live with what they have committed? To think about what they have done day in and day out, to have the world judge them and to know that family and friends has shunned them from their lives, because of the things that they have done in the past. They may not get over it today, maybe not even tomorrow but after a life time of sitting in the jail with nothing and no one, they are more than likely to “break down” and feel the guilt sooner or later. They would not be human if they didn’t, to have to grow old and sit in prison knowing that you won’t ever be able to leave or see sunlight ever again. Knowing that no one’s going to help you, and knowing that that is where you are going to die would be a terrible feeling. No one should have the right to say when someone else’s life is to end. Much like the laws there are lots of things that you can do, but just because you can do these things does not mean that it is necessary to do them. As innocence projects across the country can prove to, the criminal justice system does not always get it right – even for the most monstrous crimes. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been 142 exemptions of death row inmates since 1973. Unfortunately, the system is not flawless, and sometimes people are unjustly convicted. This means we as a society run the risk of executing an innocent person as long as the death penalty is in place. For example, the state of Texas executed Cameron Todd Willingham in 2004 despite strong evidence of his innocence, including forensic evidence. And the penalty its self is pointless, but cost of the death penalty is astonishing. California has spent more than $4 billion administering the death penalty since 1978, or more than $300 million per person for each of the 13 people who have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated. Conversely, it costs approximately $200,000 to $300,000 to convict and sentence an individual to life without the possibility of parole. If those sentenced to death received life sentences instead, we accomplish the same deterrent effect of the death penalty: criminals remain off the streets for the rest of their lives. The money saved could be spent on improving the criminal justice system such as increasing public safety or providing resources to help prevent wrongful convictions. Is the death penalty effective? The answer is no. It does not deter crime, and it is extremely expensive to administer. Ultimately, while most of the people who are incarcerated – on death row or otherwise – are guilty, we know there are innocent people in prison. It is not worth the risk of executing an innocent person.

Bibliography www.deathpenalty.org/CA Innocence Project www.thecostofusa.com cip.news innocencemarch.net

Bibliography: www.deathpenalty.org/CA Innocence Project www.thecostofusa.com cip.news innocencemarch.net