Death Penalty Essay, Research Paper

As much as people complain about the laws in the United States are they strict

enough? Are there any penalties for murder that are enough to scare a person

away from the crime they are planning to commit? The answer in most cases is no,

this is why the death penalty should be used in all states and more often. The

death penalty is a cost effective deterrent for the USA?s problem of violet

criminals. The death penalty has been part of justices systems since the

beginning of civilization. It was used as a way to punish criminals for crimes

of all types. The law was a lot stricter in history, you could be executed for

things such as stealing, being accused of being a witch and many other things.

The majority of the executions in history until around the 1830?s most

countries performed the executions in public. Now there are very few countries

that hold public executions but it is not completely unheard of. The methods of

execution were also much more cruel. Methods such as burning at the stake,

stoning, thrown to animals, thrown from a cliff among other things. If anything,

the methods used today are a walk in the park compared to methods used

throughout history. When some people think of the death penalty they think that

it is wrong for the government to take away this persons life. When you stop to

look at the Gulbin – 2 subject it is only fair and in the end it is in the best

interest of the country. Every year cold blooded killers are sentenced to life

in prison, which is not fair when they sentenced their victim to death. The

problem in the USA today is we are not hard enough on our violent criminals.

There are to many repeat offenders who could have been stopped the first time

the committed a crime. In 1993 criminals on parole committed 84,800 crimes, this

included 13,200 murders, 12,900 rapes and 49,500 robberies. Statistics like

these shows that some criminals are not effected by the penalties we give them.

Criminals have the upper hand in most cases. Around sixty two percent of violent

crimes result in death and even less result in jail time. The average person in

jail for murder spends just under three years before they are released. These

criminals only loose three years of their life while their victims lost all of

it. Something is very wrong with these statistics and something like the death

penalty should be brought into effect to put an end to it. The death penalty has

the potential to be a very effective deterrent. If the death penalty was

enforced on a regular basis and at a swifter pace it would have criminals scared

stiff. One way to look at it is, how many people would commit a murder if as

soon as their victim died they would die. If this were the case not many people

would murder unless they also wanted to die. The problem in the US is we take to

long to carry out the process. ?Commute me or electrocute me, don?t drag it

out? (Jesse Walter Bishop). The average inmate on death row is there for nine

years. This time costs the state massive amounts of money. In those nine Gulbin

- 3 years the state has to pay to keep the inmate in prison but in addition they

must pay for the countless appeals they inmate carries out. If there was a limit

and stricter grounds to place an appeal the death penalty would be a cheap and

permanent solution to killers. ?The death penalty is a warning, just like a

lighthouse throwing light beams out to sea. We hear about shipwrecks, but do not

hear about the ships the lighthouse guides safley on their way. We don?t have

proof of the number of ships it saves, but we do not tear the light house

down? (Hyam Barshay). This quote is showing that even though we can?t say

how many murders capital punishment has prevented it is still known to help

prevent people from killing. Even with all the appeals and jail time, capital

punishment is cheaper than life with out parole. On average it costs three

million dollars for a life without parole inmate. This costs comes from the

thirty four thousand per year for the cell for fifty years and seventy five

thousand dollars for the trial. On the other hand it only costs about one point

eight million dollars for an inmate severing a death sentence. This cost is from

the sixty thousand a year for the cell for six years and one point five million

dollars for the trial. The death penalty is cheaper now than life without parole

and if there were less appeals the whole thing would be even cheaper. One big

question is what crimes warrant the death of the perpetrator. The obvious one is

murder. This goes with out question, anyone who takes someone?s Gulbin – 4

life in a premeditated murder should have their life taken from them as well.

Other crimes that may warrant a death sentence is drug dealers. This may seem

very harsh and outlandish but it would be sure to stop the problem. Some people

see drug dealing as a simple and easy way to make big money fast. They

understand there is a risk involved but not a very big one. They would be sure

to think twice if they were going to die if they were caught. In many countries

in Asia they have very strict rules like this and most of those countries are

very safe to live in. One example of this is Singapore. They have very strict

rules, people can?t even chew gum, but when you walk down the streets they are

all spotless and you don?t have to worry about being mugged. So while their

rules may seem unfair, it makes the country a very nice place to live in. Many

people who oppose the death penalty argue that it is not ethical to execute a

murderer. When one stops to think about this, the statement does not hold much

water. This punishment seems to be the only fair punishment for someone who took

someone?s life for whatever reason. ?an eye for an eye?, someone took a

persons life and the same should happen to them. If someone close to an

abolitionist was murdered they would make a quick conversion to a supporter

because they would want the criminal dead. This is why most abolitionist are

people who grew up in a well off family and in a nice neighborhood. They support

the penalty because chances are, they have never been affected by a murder or a

violent crime. Capital punishment not only serves Gulbin – 5 as retribution for

the victim but also for the family of the victim. It would not seem fair that

someone took a way a loved ones life and they spent a little time in jail, death

is the only fair punishment. Abolitionists also say that when the state executes

someone, it is really just like murder. If it is murder when the state executes

a criminal, is it kidnapping when we put inmates in a cell and they are held

against their will? In both cases the answer is no. There is a difference

between premeditated murder and a criminals execution. When a murderer kills

someone, there is no trial, there was no crime committed, there is no reason why

that person should loose their life. An execution is not wrong because this

person has commitied a crime that?s punishment is death. A big issue is are

the methods we use to execute criminals today painless and ethical? The answer

is no, today?s methods are not always painless. All methods can be botched and

result in pain for the criminal. Is this fair to them? Some would say that it is

wrong to put them through that kind of pain, but one must imagine the fear and

pain that the victim was going through right before the inmate killed them.