Essay: Death Penalty Or Delay Of Game?

Capital Punishment: Death Penalty or Delay of Game?
More than seven thousand men and women were lawfully executed in the past decade, while several thousand more received a death sentence yet were spared. (Bedau 3) The problem is that it is not quick enough. Once a sentence of capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is passed it should be the duty of the state to hasten that process. Delaying the progress of the sentence robs the families of victims of their closure. There is also the cost incurred to taxpayers in housing death row inmates to be considered. Lastly, swift execution of inmates convicted and sentenced to death will deter others from committing crimes. Death penalty sentences should be expedited to give closure to

(Johnson 1) Twelve years after a loved one gets maliciously ripped from one’s life, until the family finally gets some closure. Families endure multiple years knowing that the killer is living, eating, and even conversing with loved ones of their own, while facing a sentence of death. Defendants’ attorneys will continuously push for appeals of the conviction to further delay the actual execution. Family members are forced to relive the pain by attending the execution of a murderer only to learn that a stay of execution has been granted and hopes of closure, crushed. One research group, studying the families of victims’ after an execution, found that the commonality was pain, yet relief, and that the families have suffered and continued to suffer. A family, who’s loved one, was murdered 20 years prior to the execution of her killer stated, “Today marks the end of a very long and tragic chapter in our lives and we are relieved it is over.” (Gross 489) So who is being punished more by continuous delays in execution: the families suffering daily through the loss of a loved one, or a murdering criminal whose only inconvenience is spending his days in