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Ethical Issues Death Penalty

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For the last half-century one of the most controversial topics in America is capital punishment and its practice. Both sides of the argument have valid justifications for their point of views, but the issue is still at hand. Should criminals be put to death or should there be another form of harsh punishment? Ethical values play a huge role in arguing one way or another. The topic of death penalties is nothing but an open forum for citizens and politicians to debate on their opinions and values and not so much on facts.
What is the Death Penalty?
The death penalty comes in a few different forms. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (2016), the methods of execution used in America since 1976 are lethal injection, electrocution, …show more content…

According to retired California judge Donald McCartin, “It’s 10 times more expensive to kill [criminals] than to keep them alive” (Neubauer & Fradella, 2014, p. 395). This may be an exaggerated opinion of one person, but it is taken into heavy consideration by those who oppose the death penalty because of McCartin’s reputation and political stance. Because it is an opinion of one person, it is hard to make a legitimate argument for or against the death penalty. One fact that is to be taken into consideration when discussing the cost concerns of capital punishment is who is paying for the procedures. In the state of South Carolina, for instance, the local government is responsible for footing the bill (Neubauer & Fradella, 2014). It is reported that this does not affect the court’s decision to sentence criminals to death or not, but it still raises concerns for the tax payers in that area (Neubauer & Fradella, 2014). With that being said, research does show that the wealthier the county, the higher death penalty rates the county has (Neubauer & Fradella, …show more content…

For example, why does it cost nearly four times as much on average to seek the death penalty in courts compared to the same type of crime and not seeking the death penalty? Studies have shown that the average cost for the U.S. Attorney General to not seek the death penalty for a person charged with a capital offense is $55,772 (Clear, Cole, & Reisig, 2013). In comparison, for that same person to be sentenced to death would cost $218,112 (Clear, Cole, & Reisig, 2013). Due to the argument for or against the death penalty is mainly an opinion based topic, here is mine: that is ridiculous. There is no reason why it should cost that much more for the same court proceedings seeking different

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In California, the death penalty costs an estimated $499.7 million per year, while life without parole is $11.5 million per year (Report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice). This extreme cost of the death penalty comes from paying for systems that filter the crimes eligible for capital punishment, systems that run the death penalty, and systems that give the defendants a fair trial (Report of the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice). In Los Angeles, each execution costs an estimated $250 million; however, life imprisonment in Los Angeles has a significantly smaller price tag (Rone). Statistically speaking, if the death penalty were removed, it would save a substantial amount of money for California. This outrageous price tag is exactly why capital punishment should be removed from the legal

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“The 1989 execution of Ted Bundy cost Florida taxpayers an estimated $5 million” (Executing Prisoners). The death penalty opens many doors for appealing and often results in delaying the execution and costing the state a lot of money. The death penalty is an expensive process but for some criminals, like Ted Bundy, it is

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  Just in my state of Tennessee alone the trial average for a death penalty sentence is 48 percent higher than what it is for the typical life sentence trial (Tennessee Treasury Report, 2004).When you look into going to trial to prosecute someone for the death penalty it just gets more expensive year after year.   The fact is that you have to pay more attorneys, more experts to go over the files, and more time is put into making sure that all things are in order (Chammah, 2016).   You are paying multiple attorney's, defenders, judges, clerks, and juries to insure that every detail is covered within

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According to Julie Delcour, “The Cost of the Death Penalty Outweighs its Benefits to Society,” she states that death penalty cases are much more expensive than other criminal cases and cost more than throwing them in jail for life

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The costs of capital murder trials are more expensive than other murder trials for many of reasons. Often in murder trials where the death penalty is not being sought, the case never goes to trial and the offender pleads to a lesser degree of murder such as second degree murder or manslaughter. Depending on the location in the country, a prosecutor may be swayed politically or by the victim’s family to agree to life in prison without the possibility of parole. What makes a capital murder trial so expensive is “the high cost of crime scene investigations, pretrial preparations and motions, expert witness investigations, jury selection, and heightened death row security and maintenance costs” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015, p. 493). The overall

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731 Words | 3 Pages

Most people are mistaken the true cost of capital punishment. With lengthy appeals process and specialized housing and extra security provided on death rows, capital cases are significantly more expensive than noncapital homicide cases. There are dozens of studies in regards to analyzing the financial costs that are corresponded to the capital punishment system. Some of them are funded by private organizations that may or may not take a public stance. However, there are few studies have been conducted and published by government agencies at the State or Federal level.

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807 Words | 4 Pages

Richard C. Dieter, former director of the death penalty information center says, “All of the studies conclude that the death penalty system is far more expensive than an alternative system in which the maximum sentence is life in prison.” Dieter and many against the death penalty have a problem with the expense of death penalty when life in prison keeps criminals off the streets and is much cheaper. The latest study showed cases were the death penalty cost over one million dollars as cases without cost over $700,000. This doesn’t seem like a ton of a difference until it comes out of taxpayers pockets. It cost taxpayers approximately $90,000 more each year for an inmate who is on death row.

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994 Words | 4 Pages

In the United States death penalty is the execution of either a male or female offender, as said offender has received a sentenced of death for a criminal offense, after they have been convicted by a court of law. The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, because there is a possibility of their sentence being commutated to life imprisonment if another court over turns the original ruling. The metaphysical and ethical basis for the death penalty for some is fundamentally wrong and against moral possibility. Those also point out that the complicated legal process and the extremely high costs involved in the pre-trial and trial phases for all death penalty cases, there for able makes it an

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511 Words | 3 Pages

The death penalty is very expensive. Defense costs were about three times as high in death penalty cases and prosecution costs were as much as four times higher than for non-death penalty cases. according to a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, "The Budgetary Repercussions of Capital Convictions," by Katherine Baicker. Counties manage these high costs by decreasing funding for highways and police and by increasing taxes. I believe that the death penalty should be banished.

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593 Words | 3 Pages

The average capital case resulting in a death sentence costs $449,887”. The death penalty is thirty eight percent greater than the total cost of life without parole sentences”. People who intentionally go out to harm or kill another human being should not have the chance to live. According to the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney The Death Penalty (attorney, 1998-2015)Mark Allen Wisehart of Madison County Indiana has been on death row since September 26, 1983 for killing a 61 year old Female with a butter knife. If Mark was to get life in prison without parole that is going to say he can’t escape

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798 Words | 4 Pages

Of the eight possible topics in which I was presented to choose from, I have chosen to consider the topic that states: The death penalty is immoral, and no one who has been successfully taken into custody and imprisoned should ever then be executed. The reason I chose this topic is because I am neutral on the subject and have no bias towards either side. However, the fact that I am neutral on the subject will help me represent both sides equally and give a fair and honest argument from each angle. The reason I chose this topic over the other options would be because I have never really invested much time or thought into how ethical/unethical the death penalty actually is. This presents an opportunity for me to think critically about this topic, and therefore, form my own opinion on whether or not I agree/disagree with the statement provided.

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915 Words | 4 Pages

Electrocution was a favorable when it was ruled out in 2008 and all it is that the victim is placed damp sponge on his head with a metal bowl that will cover his head. Afterward a device sends electrical pulses throughout his body, breaking his bones. Next , lethal injection is used with 3 cocktails that includes Sodium thiopental, Pancuriom bromide and Potassium chloride. And finally the gas chamber is simply the victim is placed in a gurney with his head strapped sealed in side of this chamber , and toxic,liquid gases a drop into the chamber. Now some of these executions are not that simple.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

The criminal justice strategy of capital punishment presents ethical issues and moral debates when investigated through the lens of those with differing religious, social and political beliefs. To understand this ethical dilemma, the place of the death penalty within a modern context must be questioned. As well as the investigation of both the positive and negative impacts of capital punishment, and when it is moral for a state to justifiably deprive someone of their life or liberty. The interpretation of true societal justice and the value of a human life creates division between communities, but also within the bounds of a religion such as Christianity. One adherent of the Christian faith stated “Given that every life is of value, I don’t

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700 Words | 3 Pages

Many people see cost as an issue because, the average cost of the death penalty is $740,000. Taxpayers find this as a problem because, there tax dollars are being used to pay for these executions. Taxpayers believe that it would cost less for a convict to spend the rest of their lives in prison rather than executing them. Taxpayers advocates for convicts to spend their life in prison to save money. On the other hand, people in favor of the death penalty, believe that the expense of execution is worth it.

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1095 Words | 5 Pages

In Miral al-Tahawy’s novel, Brooklyn Heights, one of the main messages conveyed within the novel surrounds the disillusionment Arab immigrants experience within America, the failure of the American Dream, as they abandon their professions, and families in their home countries hoping for a better future. Al-Tahawy shows the cycles of hope and dashed dreams that immigrants go through, time and time again. Many examples were presented in the novel on immigrants who sacrificed everything they used to have in their home countries, hoping to live the American dream. For instance, Naguib al-Khalili was an Arabic teacher who used to teach at the Scientific Renaissance Secondary School in Baalbek, but after leaving for America he couldn’t achieve his

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