Death Penalty Statistics Essay, Research Paper

Imagine for a moment that someone you knew was murdered. They soundly slept in their home of twenty-two years that they deemed safe enough for their children and safe enough for themselves. The house is in a small community, the type of community where everyone knows everyone else. They had raised one child who is now in high school, one child is still in grade school, and two have yet to start school. As they all slept soundly, believing nothing could go wrong, an unknown person creeps into the downstairs window. He is equipped with a large gutting knife. He is determined to settle a score that he has with someone in the house. Shrieks and screams are made during the night in this house by two people. The four children awake and enter their parents room to find nothing other than a bloodbath. Their parents have been slaughtered while they calmly slept. They were given no chance to defend themselves, nor a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. The four children are now left on their own, to grow up without their parents, but be raised by some other person that can never take the place of their parents. When this happens, the justice system needs to decide what to do with these barbarians. Should the justice system allow them to get away with their crime, that they masterminded and happily executed, by letting them spending the rest of their life smoking all the cigarettes and reading all magazines the could want, while the taxpayers pay for all of their luxuries? Of course not because there is no reason that they should lead that kind of life after what they were responsible of doing. They should not lead a life at all. Society as a whole needs to accept the fact that the capital punishment is better than life in prison.

Unfortunately, not everyone believes that simple and sensible point. In fact, the people in opposition to the death penalty have good points, but unfortunately they just don t hold up. They might argue a point like cost. They believe that it is more expensive to execute someone than to keep them in prison the rest of their life. Unfortunately, that is simply not true. If one is sentenced to death, (assuming he is in prison 50 years) taxpayers pay $34,200 per year at a 2% annual cost increase plus $75,000 in trial and appeal costs. This all adds up to 3.01 million dollars. Those figures are all meager figures, too. Now, if one is sentenced to death, (assuming he will be on death row 6 years) taxpayers pay $60,000 per year at a 2% annual cost increase plus $1.5 million for trial and appeals. This figure adds up to only $1.88 million, despite the fact those figures are at the high end of the spectrum. The facts make it obvious that the death penalty is far less expensive than life in prison. It is $1.13 million cheaper to be exact.

Another point often brought up by opponents to capital punishment is the argument of religious correctness. In the Christian religion, the fifth commandment states simply You shall not kill. These opponents of capital punishment argue that because of this commandment, execution is not morally correct. However, in the bible in Genesis 9:6, God actually instituted the death penalty. Genesis 9:6 reads Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. The argument of religious immorality is further disproven in Matthew 26:52 in which Christ referred to execution as a punishment for murder. Matthew 26:52 states Put you sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Again, another well thought through point made by humanitarians is shot down.

As these brutal acts of murder continue to become more common, the justice system will be forced to decide whether or not to use execution. As seen in 1981 and 1982 in Harris County, Texas, capital punishment, when used frequently, dramatically reduces the murder rate. In 1981, without the death penalty available, there were 701 murders committed. When the death penalty was reinstated in 1982, the murders dropped to an amazing 261 homicides. That is a 63% reduction. This only gives further reason to use the death penalty. The statistics make it obvious that the death penalty has an effect on the minds of killers, judging by the Harris County incidents. Not only is capital punishment an effective way of dropping the crime rate, but it can also be disregarded morally, as stated in the bible. Capital punishment is also much cheaper than life long sentences, by $1.13 million. Think how much money the American taxpayers could save if they sent all the convicts that would have been sent to life in prison, and put them to death instead. The justice should see no reason to not use criminal punishment more often, and more swiftly. They should not hesitate in using the death sentence because, quite honestly, there is no reason not to.

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