Argumentative Essay: The Anti-Death Penalty

The anti-death penalty movement over the last 200 plus years has focused much of its fight against the death penalty on moral issues. However, anti-death penalty advocates have become increasingly aware that moral issues may not be the best approach to abolishing the Death Penalty. “The immorality of the death penalty may not be its fatal flaw,” according to Herbert Haines in his book, Against Capital Punishment: The Anti- Death Penalty Movement in America 1972-1994, “rather its enormous lack of cost-effectiveness.” (Haines 193) Since cost-effectiveness is a language that both conservative and liberal politicians can understand it has become a focus for the anti-death penalty movement. “The lack of centrality of crime as an issue and excessive

A study published by Circuit Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Paula Mitchell, “Cost of Capital Punishment in California: Will Voters Choose Reform This November: The Case of Los Angeles County.” published in “The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology,” found that in California “Jury selection could take as much as a month longer in death penalty trials and cost roughly $200,000.00 more than in other murder trials.” (Alarcon) For the defense side jury selection must consider the need for jurors who can in some way empathize with someone facing death as well as understand the true meaning of beyond a reasonable doubt. For the Prosecutions side “It takes longer, more paid hours for attorneys, the judge, and court staff, to find twelve jurors who are willing to impose the death penalty.”

Although some defendants can afford private attorneys, many cannot. Defendants that cannot afford private attorneys are called indigent defendants and must rely on public defenders. With the sixth amendment to the Constitution Right to Counsel, the state must provide an attorney in felony murder cases. (Cornell University Law School Legal Encyclopedia) With the need for a public defender there are three ways of implementing an indigent defense program, first is to offer a public defender. (Wood) A public defender is paid by the city, county or state to represent defense clients. “Second way to offer legal counsel for indigent defendants is, assigned counsel.” (Wood) The courts choose a lawyer off a list and assign them cases. Providing legal counsel for indigent defendants can also involve private lawyers contracted with a local county or jurisdiction. (Wood) When a legal defense is provided for the defense client, the legal issues involved in a capital case must be considered. “The legal problems involved with a capital defense can be quite complex and require a lawyer to have a heightened degree of knowledge.” (Wood) In capital murder cases all considerations to its special circumstances, involving someone’s life, must be taken. “In the Supreme Court decision on |Gregg v. Georgia| the Supreme Court underscored the uniqueness of capital