Death Penalty Research Paper

Justin Malik
Mr. Moran
Expository Reading Writing
1 December 2013
Death Penalty Only 62% of the states in the United States of America have the death penalty enforced. (“States with and without Death Penalty) There is no comfort in living in a society in which criminals are allowed to be released from jail, and repeat the actions that put them in jail in the first place. It is unfair that taxpayers must take money out of their paychecks to incarcerate criminals. The death penalty would rid our nation of those problems. I believe all 50 states should enforce the death penalty because; it saves money, prevents future crime and repeating offenders. The death penalty has been around since the 18th century B.C, established in King Hamaurabi’s code. The code laid grounds for death penalty on 25 crimes. During those times, drowning, burning, crucifixion and impalement committed execution. It wasn’t until the 16th century A.D. that the most common method of execution was hanging, in Great Britain. In modern day and time, the most common method of execution is by lethal injection. (Part I: History of the Death Penalty) The lethal injection process includes three buttons, and three executioners. The three executioners press these buttons behind a cement wall, and one of the three contains a intravenous drip which releases into the inmates arm. The process eliminates guilt for the executioners, who will never really know if their button is the one that killed the inmate. The first execution that ever occurred in America was in 1608. The idea of capital punishment was strongly influenced by the British settlers in the New World. Nearly 300 years later, is when the death penalty was challenged for being unconstitutional and should not be protected under the eighth amendment. In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled, that the death penalty would be decided upon, by state, and by decision of the jury. Today, in 2013, 18 states do not allow the death penalty. Five of the 18 states that do not allow the death penalty are within the top ten for highest crime rate. This comes as no surprise. The death penalty would help defer crime rates just by intimidation factors. Criminals would be scared to face the ultimate punishment. Jail, for some is a sanctuary. It gives them three meals a day, and a bed, which may be incentive for criminals.
Although some may be against the death penalty because there are errors in the judicial system, this is untrue. Our government goes through a number of complex procedures to prosecute the right suspect in a crime. Substantial evidence is needed to persecute a criminal. A jury that decides whether or not it is enough evidence for the case to continue decides substantial evidence. The juries chosen to decide on the case are randomly selected and go through a series of interviews to ensure that there is no prior connection between them and the defendant so they can’t favor in either side. The jury then decides on whether the defendant is guilty or not after both the persecutor and defendant has made arguments and closing statements defending their side. This is a fair and efficient way to persecute a criminal. (“United States Criminal Procedure”)If, defendants feel that there trials are unfair, there is an appeal system, which they may go through, giving them a second chance to defend them. Those who argue that our judicial system has flaws do not factor in the rigorous amount of diligence that is included in the incarceration process.
It costs $47,102 on average to incarcerate an inmate in prison in California.(Gardapee) 66% of the cost goes towards the inmate’s security and health care. This cost also exceeds the average starting salary of a teacher in California by $12,000. Why should criminals essentially be getting more money then teachers? Teachers instill knowledge, good habits, and are our role models for the future. Criminals do not coach our youth for the better in any way possible. Most inmates on death row that would be sentenced to the death penalty are sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The average cost of imprisonment of one inmate for just 25 years is $1,177,550. A single lethal injection costs $300,000. If you enforce the death penalty on the criminals on death row, you could save $877,550 per person. Almost one million dollars of savings on one person. If all states enforced the death penalty, our government could save billions of dollars a year, helping our economy grow. If the death penalty were enforced, people would be less likely to commit a felony. If you knew that your actions could result in immediate death, you would be less likely to commit a crime. This fact is clearly shown by the 18 states that do not enforce the death penalty. Five of those states are in the top ten among crime rates. An average of seven lives can be saved every time someone is executed says Dr. Paul Rubin of Emory University. Basic human behavior shows that the increased risk of an action results in less commitment of certain action. Similar to an economic standpoint. If the price of an item were increased greatly, fewer people would pay for the item, because they cannot afford it. This is called price elasticity. Therefore, the death penalty would deter the amount of murders and other crimes in the United States by a significant amount. 56% of all violent felons are repeat offenders and 61% of all felons are repeat offenders. This is because we have given these felons the chance to repeat crimes. If violent crimes resulted in death, then more then half the criminals in our justice system would not be able to repeat their crimes and crime rates would decrease significantly. Nearly 4.1 million crimes a year are accounted by repeat offenders. 68% of all criminals who are caught for a crime, are not caught their first time committing the crime, but the second or third time. The death penalty would ensure that these felons not act again. A 56-page article published by Justin Wolfers and John Donohue stated that death penalty would create a significant deterrence in crime because a felon who has previously been incarcerated for other crimes commits a large amount of crime. (Donaohue, Wolfers) The death penalty would create incentive for repeat criminals, to learn from their actions, and live a less harmful life. The United States of America needs to take action and enforce the death penalty in all 50 states as soon as possible. Criminals on death row should not be allowed to live because it is a waste of money, and crime rates would drop. The death penalty can only result in positive outcome for our community.

Donohue, John J. and Wolfers, Justin, Uses and Abuses of Empirical Evidence in the Death Penalty Debate. Stanford Law Review, Vol. 58, March 29th 2012, December 2005.
Office of Legislative Research for the Connecticut General Assembly. “Does the death penalty cost less then life in prison without parole?” March 27th 2012

Gardapee, Pamela. "The Average Cost to House Inmates in Prison | EHow." EHow. Demand Media, 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

“United States Criminal Procedure” March 27th 2012
November 22 2013

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"Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)." Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

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"Descriptions of Execution Methods." Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

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