Death Penalty And Deep Into Capital Punishment

From the statistics used by Mulhausen in the article, “How the Death Penalty Saves Lives”, it seems that the goals of the death penalty were achieved to begin with, but since then it looks as if the death penalty threat is no longer a threat at all. In observing statistics provided to us by the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1990, murder rates have steadily declined; a very good sign for the nation as a whole. What interests me about the statistics is that even when the numbers were just beginning to be taken in 1990, the murder rates in states that do not enforce the death penalty are lower than those in states that do. This observation is very significant in correspondence to the debate regarding the effectiveness and need, or lack thereof, of the death penalty. The numbers back up my claim that the death penalty is not the best method. You cannot make the case that the death penalty itself is destroying crime because the states without the penalty have a declining crime rate, or the case that it destroys crime at a higher or faster rate because the numbers tell a different story. It cannot conclusively or confidently be said that the death penalty does not destroy crime whatsoever, but the facts of the matter do inspire doubt in my mind. Criminals who know they are likely to face death, if caught, are more willing to commit crimes than criminals who know for a fact that the death penalty is not, and cannot be invoked upon them if caught and convicted. This tells me one of two things: the criminals committing these crimes in death penalty states are so good at what they do, they do not fear getting caught, or that these criminals know even if they do get convicted and sentenced to death they are getting the easy way out. These death row convicts do not have to go to prison and suffer

It can cost as much as 3 times more to keep a prisoner on death row before execution than it costs to take care of a prisoner with a life sentence. In fact, defense costs alone for death penalty trials cost on average $395,762 per case, compared to $98,963 per case when the death penalty was not sought (Kansas Judicial Council). A study conducted by Seattle University on the costs of the death penalty i.e. the cost of appeals, hiring attorneys, and keeping a prisoner on death row before execution in Washington State found that, a death penalty case costs on average one million dollars more than a similar case that does not warrant a death penalty ($3.07 million versus $2.01 million). In addition, due to the longevity of death penalty cases, mostly as a result of the long appeal processes, statistics have shown the same high cost trends in all of the states that apply the death penalty. Thus, during these times of economic crisis, it is only wise for states and the government to spend and invest taxpayers’ money into more important areas, such as health care and

Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, is a controversial subject which has been argued for decades due to the ethical decisions involved. People believe the death penalty is the right thing to do and that it is the perfect example of ‘justice’ while others believe that it is immoral and overly expensive. The death penalty is not a logical sentence for criminals, it doesn’t give them the right type of justice and it is immoral.

Many counties complain about the high costs and the financial difficulty it causes. The document, What Politicians Don’t Say About the High Costs of the Death Penalty, written by Richard C. Dieter, executive director of The Death Penalty Information Center states, “Georgia is laying off 900 correctional personnel and New Jersey has had to dismiss 500 police officers. Yet these same states, and many others like them, are pouring millions of dollars into the death penalty with no resultant reduction in crime.” These cost of these trial are not only immense amounts of money to the local governments, but also people’s jobs and lives. It is an unnecessary process that millions of dollars are being poured into each

Those who believe that deterrence justifies the execution of certain offenders bear the burden of proving that the death penalty is a deterrent. The overwhelming conclusion from years of deterrence studies is that the death penalty is, at best, no more of a deterrent than a sentence of life in prison. The Ehrlich studies – which took

Some may be shocked to be informed that capital punishment actually costs more than life in prison; that is without parole. Many would figure that the costs would be less for the death penalty because of the food, place of living for the prisoners, etc., but quite frankly, it costs more for a prisoner to be punished to death rather than to having life in prison (Hyden). Some state’s taxes differ but for the state of California, capital punishment costs taxpayers more than $114 million a year (Bushman). Additionally, the taxpayers of California spend $250 million per execution (Bushman). According to the nonpartisan state legislative analyst’s office, the average cost of imprisoning an inmate was around $47,000 per year in 2008-09. In comparison, the death penalty can lead to an additional $50,000 to 90,000 per year, according to the studies found (Ulloa). In more studies, they have estimated the taxpayers to spend $70 million per year on incarceration, plus $775 million on additional federal legal challenges to convictions, and $925 million on automatic appeals with the initial challenges to death penalty cases

The use of the death penalty has brought peace of mind to our citizens. Though through the mid nineteen sixties until the early nineteen eighties only about six death penalties actually took effect. When the number of executions dropped, the murder rate rose from 5.6 per 100,000 people to 10.2 which is almost double the murder rate. A society cannot live in fear but needs to live in reassurance and protection. As of nineteen ninety-nine, the murder rate dropped dramatically to 5.7 because the execution rate increased to 47 executions. Pearce, Matt. "Counterpoint: Defending The Death Penalty." Points Of View: Death Penalty (2014): 6. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. This demonstrates the deterrent effect capital punishment has on society. The result is deterrence shows if one kills then one will be punished for their actions and crime.

1,392 this is the number of executions since 1976. Seems like nothing compared to the 3,035 men and women who are still waiting for their last day. Men and women wasting our tax dollars sitting on death row waiting to be murdered since the cost of capital punishment is several times of that keeping someone in prison for life. Each death penalty case in Texas costs taxpayers about $2.3 million. That is about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years (CITE) and that’s JUST in Texas, imagine what that number would be world wide. As of July 2015, 101 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes but 31 states right here in American are still carrying

BODY 1- We can prevent disgraceful crimes from happening by bringing back the death penalty; by following this adjustment there will be minor crimes being committed. Recent research shows that each execution carried out is correlated with approximately 74 fewer murders each following year. Death penalty serves a definite purpose of reducing crime as well as bringing justice

About two thirds of the countries around the world have abolished capital punishment in law or in practice on the grounds that it really isn’t effective to crime (opposingviews.com). But a 2008 comprehensive review of capital punishment research since 1975 by Drexel University economist Bijou Yang and psychologist David Lester of Richard Stockton College of New Jersey concluded that the majority of studies that track effects over many years and across states or counties find a deterrent effect (usnews.com).

A study conducted by the Journal of Quantitative Criminology reveals that for every execution performed, fifteen murders take its place (Durlauf, et al). The study compiled execution statistics and murder rates across states in order to determine the efficacy of deterrence. Granted, executions do not directly lead to murders, but the data exposes the fact that the death penalty has not been successful in preventing them. In fact crime rates increase in states that resume the practice of the death penalty. For example, Florida had a twenty-eight percent increase in murder rates after executing a prisoner in 1979 for the first time after fifteen years (“White

In order to carry out the death penalty, a state must have a substantial amount of money on hand. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the state of California has spent a total of four billion dollars on capital proceedings. (Marceau, 2013) The pre-Trial costs alone totaled $1.94 billion. Another nine hundred and twenty-five million dollars has been spent on appeals and state Habeas Corpus Petitions. Federal Habeas Corpus Appeals can account for another seven hundred and seventy-five million dollars of the four billion that the state has spent on this form of justice. Finally the overall costs of incarceration nears another one billion dollars. If the state of California were to simply get rid of the death penalty, the state would be able to pocket more than 4.5 billion dollars over the next 15-20 years depending on the exact amount of cases the state is presented with. (Marceau, 2013)

The financial aspect is one of the more discussed topics surrounding the death penalty. “Each execution can cost between $2.5 million and $5 million.” (Fagan 1). Compared to the millions of dollars it takes to execute a single to person to the more affordable cost of housing a prisoner of a range of $20,000-$40,000 a year; we as a society could punish these people for their crimes without killing and for less money.(Hirby 1). The cost for a non-death penalty trial is in the area of $250,000 whereas a trial concerning the death penalty will be in the area of about $1.7 million (Timberman). According to Sarah Timberman from death penalty.org “California has had to spend more than $4 billion on capital punishment alone since it was reinstated in the year 1978 (this is about $308 million for each of the 13 executions carried out)”. On top of the $308 million per trial, there is an additional cost of $184 million for all of the trials including multiple appeals, legal representation for the accused and extra security during the entire trial.

The death penalty is one of the oldest sentences in the books. This penalty can help deter crime, but not if it’s abolished at state levels. As of April 2011. 34 states had the death penalty legislation in place (Parks). Stated in the article by Parks, “In an October 2012 Gallup poll, 64 percent of participants said they were in favor of the death penalty for a convicted murder.” (Parks). Keeping the death penalty in place gives justice to the victims and families, prevents crime, and allows more space in prisons.

In America, $55 billion dollars are spent annually on maintaining prisons and their prisoners. The average death row inmate costs significantly more than the average prisoner due to the increased need of security, staff, lawyers, and eventual execution. A study by the Vera institute of justice stated the average cost nationwide was $31,286 per inmate. A similar report by Samuel R. Gross from 1993 details the financial spending of Florida, revealed that “since 1973 the state had spent over $57 million on capital punishment and executed 18 prisoners, at a cost of over $3.2 million a piece.” This number is far beyond the cost of imprisoning first degree murderers for life without the possibility of parole. This massive discrepancy in price tags undermines the death penalty’s overall effectiveness throughout America. The number of lawyers, attorneys, and trials for a death row case cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, more than a court case ruling for a life in prison sentence, rendering the death penalty useless and ineffective financially. By eliminating the death penalty, the amount of money that would be saved annually places millions of dollars back into budgets throughout the nation. A testimony from Richard C. Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, explains how “Florida spends $51 million a year and beyond what it would cost to punish all first-degree murderers with