Suppose a man, for any reason, takes the life of another of his fellow men. Along with
many others, in our modern court system, this brings forward two important questions: Is the
death penalty a suitable punishment for any crime? Some may be compelled to answer
affirmatively, stating the danger a convicted murderer poses to the general public if released on
parole, or some may go as far as to argue that the the life taken by the convicted could only be
avenged if the murderer were to be killed himself. However, as simple as these arguments may
seem, capital punishment is an expensive and archaic, if not barbaric means by which to
discipline those found guilty of very serious murder offenses. The death penalty is no longer a
viable
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Because of
this process, taxpayers are paying millions of dollars in excess compared to the amounts one
would see if other methods of punishment were employed. For example, California taxpayers
pay $90,000 more per year for death row inmates than criminals in other facilities (Magagnini).
"The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, as compared to the maximum security
prisons where those sentenced to life without possibility of parole ordinarily serve their
sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate. With California's current death row population of 670,
that accounts for $63.3 million annually” (Magnini). The expenditures in California alone reflect
the clear, overall trend nationwide and globally that capital punishment is financially
unreasonable for taxpayers and for the governments still sentencing and carrying out the
execution of prisoners. If alternatives to the death penalty were to be employed in sentencing
those convicted of high crimes, the cost of carrying out sentences would be greatly
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Most Americans are unaware of how
long the sentences given to otherwise executed inmates actually are. According to a poll, only
4% of voters believed those sentenced to life in prison would remain imprisoned for the rest of
their lives, and only 11% of people believed that those convicted would never be released
(Dieter). However, over two thirds of U.S. states currently employ sentences for first degree
murder that ensure the inmate will never be eligible for release, and most other states refuse to
consider parole until the inmate has served a minimum of twenty five years (Dieter).
Expenditure and alternatives aside, capital punishment for murder is a barbaric
consequence for those convicted of first degree murder. “An execution is a violent public
spectacle of official homicide, and one that endorses killing to solve social problems” (Bedau).
While this may seem a bit extreme, capital punishment is also used in cases of espionage
and treason, let alone murder. This possibly conjures to thought dark chapters in recent history
such as Stalin’s leadership over the Soviet Union and Mao’s totalitarian communist China