The Death Penalty: The Problem Of Overcrowding Prisons

The death penalty is a controversial topic in the United States today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty was overturned and then reinstated in the United States during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness. The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions has increased during the 1990's. There are a number of arguments for and against the death penalty. Many death penalty supporters feel that the death penalty reduces crime because it deters people from committing murder if they know that they will receive the death penalty if they are caught. Others in favor of the death penalty feel that even if it doesn't deter others from committing crimes, it will eliminate

Capital punishment can be a tough topic to approach because people tend to have many different opinions on it. The death penalty is an advantage to society; it deters potential criminals as well as serves retribution to criminals. There is a huge difference in expenses of a lethal injection and life in prison. The death penalty can be an extremely beneficial tool in sentencing criminals that have committed some of the worst crimes known to

Now many would think what type of pros can you receive the death penalty? One pro would be retribution this is just to make sure that the person takes full reasonability of the crime they committed and know that they are being punished for it. The next one would be deterrence which will help them understand that they should engage in no form of a crime because of the consequences behind it, however, I don’t believe that it actually works all the time because many individuals learn the consequences of a crime in elementary school from DARE. Less damage is adopted to prevent more now this can mean different levels to many. Well, a criminal is like the flu, they are an airborne virus to society. They affect everyone’s life rather they realize it or not. The death penalty is actually cheaper than what people think. Society pays less for individual who are sentenced death than those who are not. The death penalty eliminates all the negative on society if a person kills someone we never have to worry about that person again because they will be put to death and never have a chance to hurt society

Using the death penalty cost more than life in prison. Having to execute someone costs about 1.26 million dollars while life in prison costs 740,000 thousand dollars. 31 states out of 19 still use the death penalty. There is a noticeable difference between the states that use and those that do not use the death penalty like lower homicide rates and the effects it has on society. The death penalty is a tool that people say helps stop crime and makes the world a safer place but studies show that the death penalty has bad effects. The death penalty actually increases crime and has bad effects on society. There have been studies and statistics used to see how the death penalty affects people and if it is actually helping or increasing crime. There

The death penalty is supposed to deter murder and bring the justice that the murder families of the victims should be rewarded (Hyden). Although many scientific researches can conclude that it does not deter murder and the members of the murder victims’ family have rejected/rejecting the program because it retraumatizes them with long process of trials, appeals, and of course the media (Hyden). In contrast, a sentence of life in prison is certain and instant, allowing the families to move on knowing that the justice of the crime is being served. Comparing whether or not the death penalty should be legalized, the reasons as to why it shouldn’t be, are strong enough to change one person’s mind. The death penalty still should be illegal in the United States.

The death penalty is proven to not deter criminals from committing a crime punishable by death. There are many arguments on whether the death penalty should be legal, but the debate boils down to personal morals. The death penalty is immoral. Criminals will act on their drive, with no thoughts about future consequences. The death penalty not only hurts the criminal, but it affects the criminal's family. The family already had to experience what it felt like to see a loved one take an innocent person's life. This causes emotional unnecessary emotional distress for the family and those close to the person on death row. Murdering the criminal will only put the family through even more unnecessary trauma. Furthermore, humans are not pets. The human race should not be able to put others down in the sense of death. It is dehumanizing for the person sentenced to death and the executioner. There should not be a job in the United States where, in the job description, it states that you will kill someone.

Capital punishment is the best solution to the problem of overcrowded jails because all “lifers” would be sent to death row and executed. These “lifers” would no longer require a cell or take up space in an already crowded jail. This removal of “lifers” helps alleviate the congestion in jails because it creates vacancies in cells for convicts serving lighter sentences. For example, a federal penitentiary can accommodate on average 300 hardened criminals. If all convicts with life sentences, 50, were to be removed, a more manageable 250 convicts would remain in a less congested penitentiary. Clearly, the death penalty is the best way to eliminate overcrowded jails.

Those who opted to keep the death penalty did so because they thought that it would act as a discouragement for would be criminals and to keep the community safe. In theory it seemed clear-cut, but does it work? America has had more violent crimes this century than in any other time in its history. The only real point that both sides can agree upon is that the death penalty stops the convicted murder from ever killing again. Some say that this reason is enough to keep the death penalty.

Keeping a prisoner in jail for life will be very expensive considering that it costs $80,000 a year; and the bad news is that the money comes from the taxpayer's pocket. Thousands of people will attack the death penalty. They will give emotional speeches about the one innocent man who might be executed. However, all of these people are forgetting one crucial element. They are forgetting the thousands of victims who die every year. This may sound awkward, but the death penalty saves lives. It saves lives because it stops those who murder from ever murdering again (Bryant). These opinions represent some of the strongest and most influential views that proponents hold. However, if our prison system could rehabilitate more effectively, perhaps those who murdered once, could change.

While criminals must be punished for their criminal actions, “legalized murder”, as author Coretta Scott King put it, is immoral. The death penalty is legalizing the very thing that many on death row are charged for, murder. There is a multitude of lawful alternatives, to the death penalty, of reestablishing a better reputation for the criminals. The Constitution has no true right to allow such a felonious form of rehabilitation.

Many people who are supporters of the death penalty say that it’s a successful deterrent. But this isn’t true because the death penalty is administered very inconsistently and arbitrarily. “Only a small proportion of first-degree murders is sentenced to death, and even fewer are executed” (Bedau). There are also several states that have a lower criminal rate without using capital punishment. For example Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan all get along just fine without the use of the death penalty. Also “…all other Western industrial countries get along quite well without killing their citizens” (Ryan). There are many judges that are against the use of capital punishment as well.

Solving the problem of overcrowding in prisons could be easily solved with capital punishment. According to the author of “The Death Penalty,” Bri Buch, “Without executing prisoners and putting them on death row, I can see every prison getting overcrowded and out of hand.” In other words, there isn’t something done about overcrowding in prisons then prisons can become even more dangerous. In the article, ”Overcrowding,” It is stated, “Overcrowding, as well as related problems such as lack of privacy, can also cause or exacerbate mental health problems, and increase rates of violence, self harm, and suicide.” Overcrowding in prisons has become a big problem. If this problem isn’t resolved then it could increase more violence and even death rates

The death penalty does not deter criminals from committing crime. Most criminals who commit crimes do not have intentions of being caught and believe that they are invincible from the repercussions of their actions. Because of this, the death penalty really does not deter criminals from committing a crime. In fact, the death penalty could be considered an “easy way out” because the criminal does not have to spend several months, years, or even the rest of his or her life behind bars with little contact with the outside world. The criminal can just die and no longer have to suffer with knowing what he or she did, how it has affected others, and how it will continue to affect his or her life. Also, many criminals end up committing suicide in prison because they do not want to have to spend every day locked in a jail cell for extended periods of time.

Bright, Stephen B.: "The death penalty as the answer to crime: costly, counterproductive and corrupting"; 35 Santa Clara Law Review 1211 (1995)

The death penalty, also known as capital punishment is a legal procedure in which a state executes a person for crimes he/she has committed. This punishment has been implemented by many states, and is normally used for atrocious crimes, especially murder. It is also used on crimes against the state such as treason, crimes against humanity, espionage, and violent crimes while other states use it as part of military justice. There are mixed reactions on capital punishment depending on one’s faith, and the state they come from. In my view, I am not in favor of death penalty, as I strongly believe that, death penalty is unacceptable and an inhumane practice for it denies one the right to live. Death penalty does not deter crime, it is an act