Death Penalty
Death is the ultimate unknown that has never and will never be discovered. It is here that man meets his day of reckoning. To put a man to death is to force a premature end put to his life. The death sentence is a measure by which the United States government uses as a penalty for capital crimes in 38 of its states (www.amnesty.org). The list of capital crimes differs depending on the state that the murder is committed. The range of crimes that are punishable by death run from murder of the first-degree which is similar in all 38 states, to states such as Kentucky where aggravated kidnapping is punishable by death. The list of capital crimes is based upon what the state feels to be crimes that deserve a punishment of
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Expert knowledge is often needed in capital crime cases. There is typically experts from around the country that need to be flown to the scene of the crime and then also to the courthouse. This all requires money that is spotted by the county. If a public defender is called into action, the state is required to pay for the court costs of that lawyer as well. The other aspect that accounts for a good amount of money is the cost of flying relatives and friends that are called to be witnesses in the case. All this adds up to a very large bill that the county is required to foot. This seems to be unfair and can do very bad things to a small counties budget.
Jeff Sculin a writer for The Ledger, a newspaper in Lakeland, FL goes as far as to say that, “A single death penalty case can bankrupt a smaller county, force leaders to raise taxes, cut services or both.” Basically what Sculin is getting at here is that the economic burden of trial of a capital crimes suspect far outweighs the economic boundaries of most counties. This is something that needs to be taken into consideration when allowing the death penalty. Does the state have the economic means for backing their local government in order to do justice to that individual? In cases such as a small county like Polk County, there is no way that they are going to be able to fit a capital crime case into their small budget. This then falls on the tax payers who pay the price for putting
Do you oppose or do you reject the Death Penalty? If you don’t know, here is my opinion.
The cost can range all the way up to 1 million dollars just for a single death penalty case. Since capital punishment trails are longer and more intensive they tend to cost a lot more than the normal murder trails. Due to the high costs of every death penalty case there has been economic crisis in many states. In the past, around 3,000 prisoners were released early in Florida and prisoners in Texas only served 20% of their time. Rearrests are seen common in these states because millions of dollars are used for the death penalty instead of preventing crime. Most of the money is not used for crime prevention programs that could decrease the amount of crimes more effectively. Texas has one of the most people in the death row but its murder rate is also one of the highest. The politicians who support the death penalty believe that death penalty respond better to the crime. They also think that using the death penalty will make them have a stronger image. Not taking into account of the lack of funding, many do not realize that a single death penalty reduces the resources in the area. The million dollars could be used for long term crime reduction programs such as increasing the amount of police officers or even drug rehabilitation programs. Every death penalty trial is seen as a luxury item even if the person does not get the death penalty
The article “Death of the Death Penalty” states that “200 million dollars per year” is what it takes states to execute criminals each year. This money could be used as funding for recreational activities or building housing or schools for their citizens. Based on this evidence, capital punishment costs millions of dollars that could be used to make their state a better place to live in.
The majority of people would certainly agree with putting an end to this individuals lives believing that is the right thing to do and probably would require less tax money. However, numerous studies have been made on the matter and the results prove that the people who believe that killing accused individuals saves money are erring. According to study conducted by Seattle University found that since 1987 the five total cases in Washington amounted to a total bill gross to the taxpayer of 120 million dollars, around 24 million per execution. In three of the five cases the accused waived some of his appeals reducing the total cost. Furthermore as reported by a Palm Beach Post study (2000) it was found that the cost to execute some of Florida worst criminals the state needs
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the toughest form of punishment enforced today in the United States. According to the online Webster dictionary, capital punishment is defined as “the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime” (1). In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principally, treason and premeditated murder. In the 38 U.S. states and within the federal government currently upholding and enforcing death penalty statutes, this method of punishment varies quite differently amongst them. It is a controversial issue
Picture this, you are laying there in bed sleeping a peaceful sleep on what, at first glance , seems like just another night of pleasant slumber. All of a sudden though you wake up with a strange feeling of something is not right. You roll over to ask your wife if she was alright to realize that she is gone. You sit up frantically to see where she has gone only to realize she is standing in the doorway, but she is not alone. In fact she is being held by some stranger with a knife to her throat. The stranger tells you to stay where you are at or she will not live to see another day. Before you can even say a word he decides to cut her anyways and run off into the night leaving your beloved dead in the
All of the studies on the cost of capital punishment conclude it is much more expensive than a system with life sentences as the maximum penalty. Cases without the death penalty cost roughly $740,000 while cases where the death penalty is sought cost about $1.26 million. Maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population. (Top 10 Pros… 2015). A study of the cost of the death penalty in Colorado showed that death penalty proceedings required six times the days in court and took much longer to solve than life-without-parole (LWOP) cases. When people try to say it cost less to tax payers to put a man to death then to care for them in prisons for life they are not aware of the facts. Why do these cases take so long from sentencing to execution? After a person is convicted of a capital crime, they tend not to accept a sentence of "death" without a fight. They appeal to a higher court, and a higher one and a higher one, trying to overturn their conviction for any reason. Resolving those numerous appeals takes years. It's built into the system, and it helps to ensure that the State is certain of a person's guilt before the actual execution. According to a study published in 2004 in the Journal of Parable legal studies, five percent of the 5,826 death sentences imposed from 1973 to 1995 were carried out in those years. The study found there was a 68%
Criminal law is imposed by almost every nation in the world to reduce crime rate and maintain law and order of the society. An individual who found guilty of a crime will have to face corresponding punishments. Among all penalties, capital punishment is considered to be the most severe and cruelest one which takes away criminal’s most valuable right in the world, that is, right to live. It is a heated debate for centuries whether capital punishment should be completely abolished world widely. The world seems to have mixed opinion regarding this issue. According to Amnesty International (2010), currently, 97 countries in the world have already abolished capital punishment while only 58 nations still actively adopt death penalty.
Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the death penalty to be abolished.
The method of capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, has been used by courts for many years to punish criminals for their heinous acts. As time has progressed since the origins of the death penalty, its methods have evolved and improved. When the death penalty first began, its methods were much more barbaric than they currently are. Previously, those sentenced to death were burned alive, decapitated, drowned, and more. Presently, capital punishment is carried out in ways such as lethal injection and hanging, which can be considered as less brutal forms of execution. There have been many arguments against capital punishment, with many opponents stating that no matter how it is carried out, capital
The practice of the death penalty and capital punishment is a contemporary political issue that is widely debated throughout the United States. It is my opinion that capital punishment should either be discontinued or only reserved for the rarest of the rare case. In this essay, I will attempt to resolve the issue of whether the United States should continue or discontinue the practice of capital punishment by using the natural law theory set forth by Saint Thomas Aquinas and his greatest work, “Summa Theologiae”.
Is the death penalty necessary? Do I agree with the death penalty? In my personal opinion I do agree with the death penalty for specific reasons. Personally, to me the death penalty serves a purpose. A purpose in which bringing justice to the people of the United States. If one of your family members was to be murdered, what would you want to happen? You would want the person to suffer the same way that he/she made your relative suffer. With the death penalty, it helps people sleep at night knowing that they have justice in the United States of America.
The death penalty is something about which many people do not have a clear opinion. It is considered to be the punishment of execution, administered to someone convicted of a capital crime. Many people support the death penalty, while others wish for the death penalty to be abolished. My personal opinion on the death penalty is that it should be administered only in cases of certain crimes such as: serial murder, serial rape, and terrorism.
In all societies, many cases occur where a criminal must be punished, so that they can be taught a lesson, and they can stop committing crimes. There are many different ways of punishing criminals: one is the death penalty. The issue of the death penalty has been avidly discussed throughout history. Some people support the idea of the death penalty, since they say it is only fair for one to forfeit their life if they take the life of another.
The death penalty in my country does not exist. I think the death penalty in my country should exist as there are very dangerous criminals who are willing to do anything for money such as killing people, there are also many drug dealers who fill the streets with drugs and make it more and more easy to buy drugs because they simply never die prisoners and make it from inside the prison handle everything; I think for drug traffickers, rapists and murderers there should be death penalty in my country, so there are fewer of them on the streets because they are afraid of the death penalty. The death penalty is the worst thing that can happen to a criminal but I think that when someone does something bad to society or country he deserves the death penalty, that person in my opinion will never change always going to have that mentality of do evil or earn easy money. On the other hand I think the death penalty should exist in every country in the world because there are very bad criminals in all parts of the world. I also think that every person should have a second chance to be good and normal in society and the world person, but some people do not deserve this second chance and they should have death penalty in my country.