Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

Exonerated death row inmate Kerry Max Cook stated in an interview, “I don't think there's any words in the English language to explain what it's--what it's like to--to sit on Texas death row… convicted but innocent and being put to death.” Twenty two years of Cooks life was spent in prison for a crime he did not commit until DNA evidence proved his innocence, warranting his release. Since 1974, 144 convicted murders have had their innocence proven, removing them from death row in America. The primary purposes of the death penalty is to bring closure to the victims family, however, taking another life will never bring the victims life back. Despite being innocent, countless others have been executed for crimes they did not commit.The death penalty

First established in 18th century BC, the death penalty has been common place in nearly every society throughout history. Today, however, the death penalty has no effect on homicide rates. In todays society, the death penalty has no affect on homicide rates. An article published by John J. Donohue III, PhD, revealed that “last year roughly 14,000 murders were committed but only 35 executions took place.” Typically, a murderer faces far greater risks immediately after committing the crime rather than years later. If the criminal did not believe they would be caught, the death penalty would have no affect on their reasoning for murder. In America, the amount of executions compared to the amount of murders is staggeringly low, creating no impact on the mentality of criminals. Many murders in America are spontaneous acts under the influence or committed by mentally ill individuals. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug

In America, $55 billion dollars is spent annually on maintaining prisons and their prisoners. The average death row inmate costs significantly more than the average prisoner due to the increased need of security, staff, lawyers, and eventual execution. A study by the Vera institute of justice stated the average cost nation wide was $31,286 per inmate. A similar report by Samuel R. Gross from 1993 details the financial spending of Florida, revealed that “since 1973 the state had spent over $57 million on capital punishment and executed 18 prisoners, at a cost of over $3.2 million apiece.”above and beyond what it would cost to punish all first degree murderers with life in prison without parole.” This massive discrepancy in price tags undermines the effectiveness of the death penalty. The number of lawyers, attorneys, and trials for a death row case costs much more than a life in prison sentence, rendering the death penalty useless and ineffective in terms of financial gain and benefit. By eliminating the death penalty, the amount of money that could be saved annually places millions of dollars back into budgets throughout the nation. A testimony from Richard C. Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, explains how “Florida spends $51 million a year and beyond what it would cost to punish all first-degree murderers with life in prison without parole.” For the death penalty to cost