First, the death penalty gives closure to the families of slain victims (Should). They feel like justice has been served. Secondly, it contributes to the problem of overpopulation in the prison system (Should). It is true all U.S. and state federal prisons are overpopulated, some as much as 33% (U.S.). Another reason people are pro-capital punishment, is because DNA testing is now available and can now effectively eliminate almost all uncertainty as to a person 's guilt or innocence (Should). Many people who opposed the death penalty are now for it, all because of the availability of DNA testing. They think if DNA proves a person is guilty, then they are guilty. However, what if there is not any DNA evidence, but other evidence linking a person to a crime such as, an…
The death penalty is an extremely vital way of the criminal justice system. The punishment of death can help decrease crime rates. Also, this way of death can lessen the amount of criminals and give families closure. It gives closure because, the families now know that this person will never be able to hurt them or anyone else ever again. The death penalty is a very good way to end many troubles within the U.S.…
The debate on the pros and cons of the death penalty has gone on for decades. There are some people who oppose the death penalty because they fell it is a system that is so flawed that it serves no purpose. For instance, those against the death penalty believe that this sentence has the potential for an error because it is possible that the wrong person can be executed. Unfortunately, there is no way for those who decide who is guilty to always be 100 percent accurate.…
Some pros to the death penalty are that it protects innocent people and that the death penalty serves as a deterrent. Sentencing convicted murderers with the death penalty we are protecting inmates, guards, and people outside the prison. If we do not sentence convicted murderers with the death penalty and instead sentence them with life we are giving them the opportunity to murder while in prison. A statistic shows that by executing convicted murderers we are saving from three to eighteen innocent lives. The death penalty serves as a deterrent because without the death penalty there would be a lot more murderers. This is so because a lot of people do not commit murder in fear of the death penalty and those who have committed murder would…
Some may say that the death penalty is helpful to society because it intimidates criminals into committing less crimes, particularly murders, when in reality, studies like one done by Benjamin S. Tyree of the University of Richmond show that there is no correlation between the use of the death penalty and lower murder rates, and if anything, states that do not use the death penalty, have lower murder rates than those that do (Deter, Tyree). If that is the case, then it is obvious that the death penalty does not benefit our country.…
Capital punishment in the America has been practiced by 31 states since the death penalty was reactivated in 1976. As well, when the death penalty was brought back, a new method of execution was introduced to the criminal justice system, and today 14 states preserve this new process of executing inmates by lethal injection. In United States, as an alternative of abolishing the death penalty, have continued building prisons to incarcerate its law breakers. Across the country, from 1990 to 2005, new prisons were opened every ten days. Overall, people, advocate extreme opinions about it, contemplate the death penalty a type of justice. Death Penalty and abolition have strong arguments of whether…
The death penalty is never the right choice. In America last year fifty three people were executed, and at this time in the USA over 3500 people are on death row. The amount of people on death row shows that the use of Capital punishment is not decreasing crime in America. Therefore Capital Punishment has no point. The latest country to abolish the death penalty for all crimes was Albania in early 2007. The abolition of Capital Punishment in Albania shows that the death penalty obviously doesn 't work. The country tried using it and it failed. Since 1973, there were 138 death row exonerations in the United States. That 's 138 innocent people who were mistakenly sentenced to death in a U.S. Court room, and later had their convictions overturned due to further research in light of new evidence. The fact is: the death penalty is much more of a retribution measure than a preventative measure. There is no clear cut proof that the death penalty will prevent people from killing each other…
The death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime. The death penalties are usually carried out for retribution of a heinous murder committed, such as aggravated murder, felony killing or contract killing. Every state handles what method they want to use to put a person to death according to their state laws. The death penalty is given by lethal injection, electrocution; gas chamber firing squad and hanging are some of the ways that certain states may carry out their death penalty procedures. I will present some views and personal opinion dealing with the pros and cons of the death penalty. The death penalty is such a life altering subject that affects all parties’ lives that are involved in the death penalty process. I personally have mixed feeling about the death penalty. I don’t know really if I would be a person that would support the death penalty or not. I do feel that murdering someone is wrong, and since no one really close to me has never been murdered. I don’t know if my feeling would change as being a supporter for the death penalty or not. I can only pray that God will help this county to make the right choices when comes to life or death.…
The death penalty could be a cost effective way of getting rid of dangerous criminals. Maintaining each death row prisoner cost the taxpayers ninety thousand more per year than a prisoner in a general population. Getting rid of people on death row will save taxpayers a lot more money. It could be a cost effective way of getting rid of dangerous criminals and to keep the less violent criminals in for longer. Getting rid of people who are on a life sentence or on death row will save taxpayers a lot of money which could be spent on other things in…
"The death penalty is much more expensive than life without parole because the Constitution requires a long and complex judicial process for capital cases". The process before being executed is much longer. In fact "Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 years"(Death penalty.org, 2008). This time on death row can vary, but usually it is more then 10 years (Death penalty.org, 2008). During that time of waiting on death row more and more money is being spent looking into the case to make sure everything is perfect and correct information is there. The amount of money spent on the person that is getting executed is over thousands more by the time the process is done. Executions cost "$2 million per person vs. $500,000 for life in prison without parole. If the death penalty was replaced with a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, which costs millions less, more money, could go for things citizen really need. In fact; "the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we live"(Death penalty, 2008). There are so many good things we could use the extra millions of dollars on including "education, roads, police officers and public safety programs, after-school programs, drug and alcohol treatment, child abuse prevention programs, mental health services, and services for crime victims and their families". All of this should be way more important in the grand schema of things. The state of California alone "could save $1 billion over five years by replacing the death penalty with permanent imprisonment." Having regular prisoners is so much cheaper. "California taxpayers pay $90,000 more per death row prisoner each year than on prisoners in regular…
People who support the death penalty would argue that the death penalty deters people from murder because they are scared of being sentenced to death. It might scare some people, but the vast majority of murders would kill anyway, for most murders are not rationalizing their actions. Also, according to some being sentenced to life is a worse punishment than the death penalty for death would put them out of their misery. The life sentence is just as bad as a death sentence, so why have the death penalty at all? The death penalty is not beneficial. It only creates problems.…
The death penalty puts innocent people’s lives at risk and no matter how developed a justice system is, it will inevitably remain susceptible to human failure. Many people are under the assumption that by abolishing the death penalty America would save money; however, this is untrue. America is actually losing millions with the death penalty. It costs about $1.26 million for cases where the death penalty is sought.…
The death penalty is used universally, in developed countries, as well as, in undeveloped countries. The death penalty is used more for retribution and retaliation than it is for justice. The death penalty does not deter crime effectively, it is incompatible with human rights and human dignity, used against minorities and the poor, and there is always the risk of executing innocent people. Its easy to agree to the death penalty when the accused is not someone you know...bu what if the accused was your son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister? Would you still be for the death penalty?…
The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is an execution used as a punishment on someone convicted of a capital crime. There are several ways in which these executions have been or are being made. The most common is the lethal injection, others being electrocution, hanging, lethal gas, gas chamber, and/ or the firing squad under limited circumstances. The death penalty was first used in the U.S. in colonial times therefore leading to more than 900 executions since the year of 1976 in the U.S., with the state of Texas leading the nation (“At Issue”). There are many pros and cons that are discussed about this topic that are justifiable depending on the different points of view. Some people believe that the death…
The Founding Fathers wrote the 8th amendment to ensure no accused person receives a “cruel or unusual punishment.” However, the 8th amendment never truly defines what “cruel” or “unusual” is. The definition of cruel and unusual has been changing for centuries and even today, the Supreme Court has difficulty deciding whether the death penalty should be considered a cruel or unusual punishment. In the case of Furman vs. Georgia in 1972, the Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in a 5-4 decision; however, four years later, the Supreme Court declared that the death penalty was constitutional under Gregg vs. Georgia and this decision has been upheld with some exceptions.…