Why The Death Penalty Is Important

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

Those that are for the death penalty claim that it will serve as a deterrent and is the only way for retribution against murderers. Both issues are highly debatable and have even been a subject of criticism. Punishment as a deterrence has been used for ages. This concept does work, however it should not be applied to all criminals, in my opinion. Some pro capital punishment individuals claim that it is an efficient deterrence against criminals. In an article “Death penalty is a deterrence”, the authors claim that by practicing the death penalty, violent crimes will decrease.”violent crime has declined eleven percent, with murder showing the largest decline at even more than twenty two percent. We believe that this has occurred in part because of the strong signal that the death penalty sent to violent criminals and murders.” These statistics taken from this article may be inaccurate and should be closely examined.

Incarceration should be the last resort of an advanced society, not the go-to sanction for most offenders. However, if prison is the outcome, then society and the individual committed should have the expectation that they will be improved upon release. Reducing recidivism is a complex problem that begins with sentencing strategies that ensure the least probability of return to the criminal justice system. Many countries have less crime and less recidivism, America could use the successful approaches from countries with more success in reducing crime and offender outcomes. Perhaps the solution

Enforcing the death penalty more, I believe, will reduce the amount of serious and dangerous crimes. Criminals will be more scared to commit their crimes because they will be scared of their own fate. I also think it is a very smart thing to do because it will save tax money for more important matters. Our taxes need to be spent on more serious things, and not on criminals spending their lives in jail. I also

A long-term study conducted by Bureau of Justice Statistics found that the average five-year recidivism rates of 404,638 prisoners released in 2005 is 76.6% among thirty states in America (Matthew, Alexia, & Howard, 2014, p. 1). In other words, most of the released prisoners did not escape the cycle of recidivism and were sent back to the prison after time. This indicates that the present American justice system, which focuses on punishment as Benson (2003) noted, fails to rehabilitate prisoners efficiently and is far from achieving the goal of reducing crime rates (p. 46). What is more, the recidivism of prisoners is becoming a great plague of society, because it not only imposes a threat to public safety but also places an enormous

The FBI has found that states that enforce the death penalty have a higher murder rate than those who have abolished it. I believe we should increase the number of police officers, reduce drug abuse, and improve our economy so that it has more jobs to lower the rate of crime in our nation, not kill people who want to be killed (Hugo).

If criminals had the horrifying threat of the death penalty, they would think before commiting crimes. “The death penalty is a necessary tool to fight and deter crime. Capital punishment deters crime by causing

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

That has proven to be wrong. According to The Death Penalty Information Center, states that a report from The National Research Council did a study entitled The Deterrence and the Death Penalty. This report states that studies that the death penalty has any sort of deterrence of murder are “fundamentally flawed” murder continues to rise especially in the south where the most executions are carried out. This is why I believe that the money spent on capital punishment would be better spent on at risk youth in the way of after school programs and maybe even teaching technical

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.

Defenders of the death penalty often claim that the execution of criminals will teach others not to do bad, initially decreasing crime rates. This hasty form of generalization statistically proves to be wrong. “When it comes to criminals, Texas has the toughest punishments along with a strict court system. The state of Texas spent four hundred and seventy million dollars in 2001 just for punishing convicts. Despite all that money and stern punishment, the crime rate is still twenty four percent higher than the national average, according to 2003 data” (Gonzales). This supports the fact that tough punishment doesn’t necessarily help crime. Ironically, the harshest state in the U.S continues to house the maximum number of criminal acts. The death penalty, a harsh form of punishment, clearly doesn’t lower crime rate.

Convicting, sentencing, and imprisoning are just the first few steps of reducing crime. All the effort, time, and money that go into keeping criminals locked up and off the streets are really for nothing in the end if he or she commits the same crime again after release. James Haley, who is the book editor of “Prisons” points out, “Every year, close to six hundred thousand inmates are released from state and federal prisons around the country. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, two-thirds of former convicts commit new crimes and one-half are re-incarcerated within three years of being released from prison” (138). Are US prisons truly effective when so many prisoners are committing new crimes upon release? It is for the better interests of American safety that some prisoners are locked up for life, but this should not include the constant return of re-offenders. The life of most convicts involves committing a crime and being sentenced to jail only to repeat the same process again. Many re-offenders see incarceration as a ticket to a place to sleep and food to eat.

The world can be a dark and cruel place to live… proof of this can be easily determined by watching the news, reading the newspaper, or watching today’s television shows and movies. Every day hundreds of horrendous crimes are committed; murder, kidnapping, child molestation, the list goes on and on. These crimes are sufficient proof that there is enough evil in this world.The death penalty has, and will be an extremely prominent controversial issue worldwide, yet I believe that it is important we remain advocates for the death penalty as it is a vital factor for keeping society under order. it is among the oldest criminal punishments, and has shown its effectiveness if it has stayed around this long. Capital punishment serves 4 general purposes: To punish crime, to prevent repetition of crime, to discourage future crimes, and save the taxpayers lifelong expenses for prison.

The death penalty is faulty in its age and obsolete in its usage, and frankly should be put out of its misery. Capital punishment began its time in the Middle Ages, as people were executed for simply thinking differently from the rest of society. Even now, as we look back on history we find their ways of execution purely barbaric and malicious in all its forms. However, we continue to practice these forms of butchery; the traditional method of execution, hanging, is still an option available in certain states. In addition, couple of states also still allow firing squads, and the electrocution chairs has been readily used throughout the last century. The United States stands as one of the few developed nations with a death penalty still in place. There’s a reason most of the European countries have banned the usage of death as punishment, it’s cruel, unusual and barbaric! Is that the image the U.S. wants to portray the alling regions, one of intolerance and unforgiveness? The United States surpasses those barbaric ways, with its exceedingly advanced ways and state-of-the-art technology, yet it’s one of the only countries left of the Western world that still has

Is capital punishment (sometimes referred to as the death penalty) an effective way of reducing the murders that happen throughout the United States? Some people think in the mindset that if one person takes another's life then their life deserves to be taken too. Others believe that it is not an effective form of punishment and it should be done away with. There has even been research about how effective capital punishment actually is. I believe that capital punishment should be banished from our criminal justice system because it is outdated, it doesn’t teach anyone any lessons, there is no efficient way of taking the person's life, and it would save states a great extent of money.