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Capital Punishment Essay: The Death Penalty In The United States

1329 Words6 Pages

Today about seventy percent of Americans support the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). While thirty percent are against the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011).
When seeking the death penalty, it is something not done very often and it not taken very lightly. The death penalty is also known as capital punishment or execution. Societies from all over the world have used this sentence at one point in history, in order to punish people who have commited a crime. Back then, the capital punishment was almost always accompanied by torture, and executions Nowadays, death penalty is used for people who commit what is called capital crimes or capital offenses. People who are …show more content…

For example, it costs the government a large amount of money to support a criminal throughout their entire life. This would include food, health care, security, electricity, and other necessities. Until the court makes a final decision, long trials and appeals can take place costing the taxpayers large amounts of money. Cases where the death penalty is in affect cost $1.26 million. It costs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice approximately $83 to execute an inmate by lethal injection. While maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population (“City’s Annual Cost Per...”). Prisons also cost a great deal of money to run and maintain and it is all paid for out of our taxes. If the death penalty was reintroduced then taxes may be lower or the money could be put to a better cause. A case of a person serving a life term for murder. This person is going to be taken care of by the state until the day he dies. By the time he would have finished serving his life term, he would have ended up costing the taxpayers a lot. But if such a person were executed, the state would have cut down cost drastically. This is the reason why many say that capital punishment is cost-effective.Depending on the crime I believe execution is a better option for the economy because it is

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