California's Death Penalty

The death penalty is procedure conducted by the government by which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime. The crimes that can sometimes carry the death sentence in places like the US are war crimes, treason, murder, crimes against humanity, espionage and genocide. 103 countries as of today have fully removed the death penalty except for special crimes e.g. War crimes. Although this is a step in the right direction (for most people) 56 countries are known to perform the death penalty.

The death penalty sometimes also known as capital punishment or execution, is the sentence of death brought on by courts as punishment for a serious crime people who receive the death penalty typically are convicted of murder and similar capital crimes like aggravated murder or felony murder (What is the death penalty). In Canada, there is no death penalty, where in America there is one. The most common form of the death penalty is by lethal injection which is done in 33 states (Methods of execution).

A. Death penalty is the sentence of death for a person convicted of a capital offence, is currently used in 58 countries around the world, and is also legal sentence in 33 states. (Harrison, Tamony P2)

     What are we mad about electricity rates, gasoline prices, traffic congestion and crowded schools? We’re missing the point here. What were missing here is some good, old and honest anger about an issue that has been a concern for decades – California’s Death Penalty. The Death Penalty has long been a problem in California from costs, deterrence, overcrowded prisons, execution of the innocent and so on. Then if were having all these problems why should we continue using this system?

4% of the criminals on death row have been wrongly accused of a crime and ended up being killed. You have a say in whether or not you want this atrocity to continue. California's death penalty system has failed. Tax payers money is being wasted on the death penalty and is also a empty promise to victims families and carries the unavoidable risk of executing an innocent person. The article Yes on prop 62 states that “there is no evidence that the death penalty lowers crime” (Hastings) The astronomical costs associated with putting a person on death row – including criminal investigations, lengthy trials and appeals – are leading many states to reevaluate and reconsider having this flawed and unjust system on the books. Proposition 62 is the

The risk of innocent people being sentenced is high. About 14% of executions were of the innocent, and they weren’t found out until long after their execution. This supports my claim because too many innocent people are being executed against their will, and most of them aren’t even involved with the murder, just innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In conclusion, there is just too much risk of innocent bystanders being executed for doing nothing wrong, and we should get the facts and evidence straight before we go kill an innocent

The people of California spoke their minds when they decided to keep the death penalty but they also decided to speed up the process by reducing the amount of appeals a convicted inmate is allowed to have. The death penalty pertains to criminals who commit crimes such as; during a kidnapping the victim dies, train wrecking if anyone dies, if a life prisoner assaults someone and that victim dies within a year, treason, first- degree murder under specific conditions (for hire, of a witness to prevent testimony, if committed during a robbery or burglary, of a peace officer, if committed during the course of a rape by force, if committed during performance of lewd and lascivious acts upon children, or by persons previously convicted of murder). The death penalty is not for petty crimes or mild offenses, but it is for those criminals who have done something so horrendously wrong that the community has deemed it fair that they are given the ultimate punishment for their actions. Putting another person to death is a heavy decision but once decided it should be done right away. There should not be years and years of waiting and appeals by the defendant when they have already been found guilty. This is a waste of time and money. They have already been convicted of their

The California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, give a thorough background to the death penalty. The CDCR confirm that the introducing of the death penalty here in California, began due to the Criminal Practices Act of 1851 along with the penal code that was reinstated the fourteenth of February, 1872. According to the CDCR, there are two maximum facilities who held executions in California, being in San Quentin and Folsom. The first ever execution was held on the third of March, 1893 in San Quentin maximum facility. Folsom following their first on the thirteenth of December. 1895. Throughout the years, over 215 inmates in San Quentin and 92 in Folsom were executed, none being documented correctly. Thus, leading into the California

As stated before, capital punishment is very costly. $90,000 per year per inmate is the difference between an inmate on death row and one sentenced to life without parole (Tempest, 2005). On average California spends $250 million on each execution, these numbers start to add up and they are most certainly more than what it would be to sentence them to life without parole. The side that is for capital punishment would say that these cost are necessary to keep our

People not only in California, but in many other states and countries kill their own kind. They take another’s life, but yet they are left with their own. They plot in their own time to find ways to murder or assault others. What would the penalty for such an action be, in essence, they would be sentenced to death for their actions. In the research I have done, around twenty-eight states in the united states use the death penalty. I am here to support the use of the death penalty in California. The death penalty should be used in California because killers are still able to see their families when the victim's family is not able to, murder is never justifiable, and a person who has been convicted of a capital felony shall be punished by death.

According to Di Editorial Board, “the death penalty is both an ineffective deterrent to violent crime and is incredibly cost-inefficient. Our funds would be better put to use in other areas, such as education, mental health, and law enforcement — all of which have been proven to deter violent crime”(2012). We have learn that punishment did not prevent crime in California as a result of the War on Drug and harsh punishment have lead criminal justice system in crisis. California prisons are overcrowded and now political what to modify the system to reduce sentences for nonviolent offender. Dan Levine and David Ingram claim, “… a modification of the Justice Department's charging policies so that certain low-level, nonviolent drug offenders who have no ties to

Since Proposition 34, the proposed measures of “pro-death” and “anti-death penalty” have created controversies. In California the death penalty is allowed, but this state has the most inmates on death row. The last time someone was put to death was over 8 years. The death penalty is carried out with lethal injection on inmates with certain crimes punishable for death. Voters with this proposition get the right to choose if prisoners are sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole. Both options make the inmate work to pay fines to the victims’ families. Although some may argue, California should abolish the death penalty since the system is dysfunctional and a waste of money.

While, innocent people are being sentenced to jail time and put on death row because of errors in the criminal justice system. It has been frequently argued that the death penalty leads to a failure and misuse of justice by wrongfully executing an innocent person. Many people have been announced innocent victims of the death penalty. Improper procedure may also result in unfair executions. Since 1973, more than 150 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence. California being the state with the biggest amount of death row prisoners since April (2015) with 746.

    The death penalty is the most severe sentence that can be administered to a criminal (Capital Punishment 1). There are only fourteen states in the United States that prohibit capital punishment, Iowa being among them (Death Penalty 1).

Death Penalty Information Center, displays the different statistics based on inmates facing the death penalty. Not all states have the death penalty sentence but since 1968, there have been 3,170 inmates in the United States that have faced the death penalty. There have been 724 inmates in California alone, being the most in any state that faced the death penalty. Since about 1979 to 2007 the number of inmates that were executed increased greatly from 539 to 3,215. Due to the statistical evidence of inmates that have been charged with the death penalty, this data base is very critical to my research paper. Knowing the number of inmates sentenced to death row can help me better my understand the crime rates for each state based on the criminals charged with murder because only criminals facing charges of murder can be sentenced to death row based on the eighth amendment.