Capital Punishment

Life is Worthy The great Martin Luther King once said “ capital punishment is society’s final assertion that it will not forgive”. Although some crimes are indeed so heinous that society feels no way of dealing with them , the death penalty is not the answer. Not only does capital punishment promote barbaric actions by a justice system deemed civilized , it is an insult to justice. The Death Penalty is a miscarriage and a travesty of justice by using excessive measures on crimes committed by fellow citizens. Looking at the death penalty from an immoral perspective we can draw several facts. From a financial point of view , the death penalty shows us several things. The cost of death penalty is higher than the cost of life in prison and, has the same outcome. Us, as tax payers, have to have maintain as it is, and for the death penalty to be a greater burden on the taxpayers wallet is preposterous. If a fellow citizen were to commit a crime worthy of capital punishment , given life in prison or the death penalty would mean he or she would not be exposed to society anymore , yet life in prison is cheaper than death penalty. It is to say , death penalty is more expensive versus life in prison but , has the same the outcome . By saying that both of these different punishments have the same outcome is that , regardless of the punishments the criminal would never be exposed to society again. In 1993, a study conducted in the state of California found that when applying the death penalty is costs at least 1.25 million more than a life sentence without parole (Eddlem 23). Studies have been conducted and it is evident that the cost of applying the death penalty versus life in prison is an inordinate expense. Human beings are fallible yet we are must carry out the non-biased and fair duty of justice . Social biases and being that the justice system isn’t infallible , applying the death penalty might be immoral since we aren’t free from error. Needless to say , taking someone’s life away is taking everything that is to them. It is evident that most of the cases where the death penalty has been applied , it has been applied to minority groups with limited economic resources. Sadly we live in a unfair world where inequality exists and has always been present. Minority groups tend to have scarce economic resources and cannot afford a legal advice which then makes them more vulnerable to injustices in a court of law. As previously stated , the justice system isn’t infallible. In a National Conference given regarding the death penalty, 75 people have been condemned to death, but later found innocent and released. The question that rises from this is that if these people would have been executed, would they have a saying? would they have anything? The answer is a resounding no. The people that are against death penalty depend on three basic essentials: the right to live , the criminal justice administration must be fair, and the use of less violence to end justice (Bedau A3). Us, as United States citizens, are guaranteed the right to live and with the death penalty present, that right is void. The justice system must be non-biased and non-discriminatory given that we are all guaranteed with the same rights as citizens. We are all indeed human and taking life away from any of us , regardless of what atrocity we might have committed , is taking everything we have from us. Most supporters of the death penalty argue that the death penalty serves as a way to protect the lives of citizens, from those who take life from fellow citizens. They believed that the death penalty serves justice by applying the highest and cruel punishments possible on criminals who have committed crimes evil enough that he or she shouldn’t live anymore. To understand the supporter belief here is a perfect example; a person like Osama Bin Laden committed several crimes solely and specifically worth of death. On the other hand, murder is also an evil crime that exists in society now a days. Therefore, supporters argue that sending to death the murder was the only way to show some respect for the life of the affected citizens (Lenhoff 4). For these reasons, supporters of the capital punishment fell that executions should be imposed upon to all the guilty people in order to protect and honor a citizen’s life. Educating someone that something is wrong is a very thing from instilling fear into someone that something is wrong. Supporters of the death penalty feel it serves as an example for everyone of the punishment for criminals who commit such heinous crimes worthy of execution. Death penalty, a violent and cruel punishment, apprises criminals from committing barbaric crimes. Most criminals will at least think twice on committing a crime worthy of the death penalty. Criminals that were not sent to death, will no longer be close to commit a crime since they are aware of the consequences. This creates somewhat of a fear factor for criminals committing crimes of this gravity. According to the economist Isaac Ehrlich, death penalty was from seven to eight murders, because executions is a way that stops people from doing bad (Wornsop 398). Supporters of the death penalty rely heavily on the notion that the death penalty deters crime. The executions serve as an example to deter the criminals bad action and respect life. We must all respect life on the side of the citizen and on the side of the justice system. Most of the executions are performed under racist circumstances. People who are condemned to death, most of the time are always poor or African Americans. What i means under a racist circumstance, is that capital punishment is habitually applied more often to African American suspects than Caucasian ones. According to the Justice Department, 80 percent of inmates on the federal death row are black, Hispanic, or from another minority group. This statistic prove us that only death penalty is an unfair social sin. On the other hand, poor people criminals have a higher chance to be given the death penalty even though if they are innocent. The disadvantage on this situation is that people who are wealthy have the advantage of hiring a good attorney to defend their case, while the poor have to cope with the public defenders (Lenhoff 4). Their have been studies that demonstrate how capital punishment is realized unevenly. In that case, the death penalty can therefore bring many injustice as we are fallible and it also violets the right to life. The measures , along with its necessary evils , we take to make our world a better place must outdo the bad with good. Most importantly, death penalty is not only a cruel punishment, it fails to deter criminals from committing such atrocious crime. As if being put the death wasn’t enough , research has shown that it does little to deter crime. The person who seeks revenge from the criminal is seeking an act which will only hinder justice. Justice must exemplify what society we are by treating our worst as best as we possible can. Acts of revenge aren’t acts we must embrace in as it creates only a cycle of destruction and contradicts justice. Seeking the death penalty for a criminal leads to a path of destruction, irreversible consequences, and leaves little satisfaction. As endless anecdotes have stated “ revenge is not the answer”. Studies have shown that , the death penalty is an unacceptable aggressive act, that might even increment crime by making society more savage (Lenhoff 4). If we teach our society that killing is the answer to some of our tragedies then we are brutes. The death penalty is an enemy of progress, in essence, death penalty does not deter crime. If we one day educate the people more than instilling fear upon them , our society will be a better place. The death penalty is an unfair punishment that goes against the fifth commandment. It is a violent act that vanished peoples’ dignity and life, it is cruel, unnecessary, and illogical decision. Also, it is frequently racist and it deteriorate our Catholic belief that all human life is sacred. Consider the words of Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (Holy Bible. Prov. 8.7).