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Essay on Capital Punishment in America

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Capital Punishment in America

Capital punishment is the execution of a perpetrator for committing a heinous crime (homicide), and it is a hotly debated topic in our society. The basic issue is whether capital punishment should be allowed as it is today, or abolished in part or in whole. My argument is that:
1) Capital punishment is not an effective deterrent for heinous crimes.
2) Life imprisonment can be worse of a punishment than death, not as costly as execution, and better for rehabilitation.
3) The innocent can be wrongly put to death.
Conclusion: Capital punishment should be abolished.
Though capital punishment might seem like the only way to get revenge, it is morally unjust. Who are we to decide whether a …show more content…

They will live out the rest of their days with the same monotonous routine, and after a while, many become so accustomed to it, that they lose their skills for live on the outside. Some of those who support the death penalty base their argument on the fact that it is a cost-effective alternative to life imprisonment. However, it may be more costly to execute an inmate than to have that person serve a life sentence (Amnesty International, 1987). A 1982 study in New York concluded that the average capital murder trial and the first stage of appeals costs U.S. tax-payers 1.8 million dollars (Bohm, 1987). It is estimated that this is less than it would cost to incarcerate someone for one hundred years. Other sources estimate that it can cost up to 2.2 million dollars to obtain and carry out a death sentence (Johnson, 1990). The principal factor in this cost is the appeals process, which lasts an average of ten years and is deemed necessary to reduce the likelihood of the execution of an innocent person. Obviously, the execution of a murderer deems him/her incapable of murdering again. However, those who support the concept of rehabilitation say that imprisonment is effective in preventing murderers from killing again. Murderers have the lowest rate of re-committing a homicide than people who have served time for other offenses (Johnson, 1990).
The Innocent With convictions and executions, there is always a chance that someone was wrongly filed with charges.

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