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Pros And Cons Of The Death Penalty

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The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, refers to punishment by death through methods such as beheading, electrocution, hanging, shooting squad, or lethal injection. This rare sentencing, traces back to early American colonial ages, is reserved to perpetrators of heinous crimes. Throughout recent years, the topic has raised a profusion of human-rights issues due to the harsh breaching of two essential human rights: the right to life and the right to freedom of torture. Many pro-death penalty supporters will argue that the cost of keeping convicts on death row is too expensive, however recent studies show carrying out a state execution costs far more money than keeping convicts for life imprisonment sentences. Despite controversies, …show more content…

The death penalty, once applied, is irreversible. But how can an innocent person be sentenced to execution? Human failure is natural and inevitable. Newly discovered DNA evidence after an execution can prove one’s innocence, DNA mix ups during trials, the pressure for a speedy trial, or simply abuses of power can always occur. When an innocent person is executed, there is no turning back. The loss of that innocent person’s life will also affect family and friends. According to a report conducted by the Justice Department in 1996, ‘’In 8,048 rape and rape-and-murder cases referred to the FBI crime lab from 1988 to mid-1995, a staggering 2,012 of the primary suspects were exonerated owing to DNA evidence alone.’’ (Williams), nearly 25% of the accused offenders were found innocent after further DNA investigation and that statistics accounts for just rape and murder cases alone. A risk of convicting innocent people exists in any justice system. There have been and always will be cases of executions of innocent …show more content…

A common misconception is that the cost for taxpayers sustaining inmates serving sentences is far greater than executing the prisoners. However, this belief is not true. Both Samuel Shaw, a Florida Supreme Court Case Leader, and John DeRosier, a District Attorney, will clear up this misconception to any pro-death penalty supporter. ‘’John DeRosier estimated that a capital case in Louisiana is at least three times more costly than a non-death case.’’ (Hyden) ‘’Some people may be surprised to learn that the death penalty is far more expensive to implement than life in prison without the possibility of parole.’’ (Shaw) The debunking of this misconception is supported through studies done on financial reports affected by death penalty cases. ‘’Studies in North Carolina, Maryland, California, and many others show that capital punishment is many times more expensive than life without parole, and there's a long history of the death penalty pushing municipal budgets to the brink of bankruptcy and even leading to tax increases.’’ (Hyden) Taxpayers are essentially paying more for death penalty

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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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Cost of the Death Penalty When it comes to the topic of the death penalty being cost effective. Most of us will readily agree that the death penalty is the most expensive, that it’s a financially impractical punishment for convicted murders. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether capital punishment with one execution is more expensive than life a sentence without the possibility of parole, Others maintain that since many law enforcement officials consider that it is an effective deterrent against homicides and a sufficient use of taxpayer dollars. My own view is that those convicted of capital punishment should be sentenced to life imprisonment without getting any parole because it is more cost effective.

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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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Robert Evnen, Co-founder of Nebraskans for the death penalty agrees with the expense of the death penalty but blames the cost on “decades of appeals.” He even comes up with a suggestion to fix the cost by “limiting the number of appeals.” Evnen understands that numbers don’t lie, but relizes that most of the cost comes from multiple trials and appeals. He believes that the death penalty is appropriate in certain times and comes up with a plan to limit the amount of money coming from taxpayers

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Unfortunately, our justice system is not always accurate and faulty cases slip through the cracks. Families of innocent people should not be made to suffer for the inadequacy of the death penalty. Capital punishment poses a large risk to innocent people and their families.courts can sentence murderers to life without parole, why not get rid of the death penalty? The death penalty is the most horrible punishment of execution that the united state of america has allowed. It seems that our government is being hypocritical when it states that capital punishment is allowable because, after all, the criminal did murder an innocent victim, and therefore should be killed.

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When it comes to the topic of the death penalty being cost effective, some of us will readily agree that the death penalty is cheaper than sentencing a convicted murders to life in prison without parole. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of does the death penalty really cost less than life in prison without parole. Whereas some are convinced that it is cheaper to give the prisoner life in prison without parole, others maintain that it is cheaper to give the prisoner the death penalty. My own view is that it’s cheaper to sentence them to life without parole because they don’t have to pay lawyers, cost for executing the prisoner, and cost of the case.

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The public argues that capital punishment implements a legacy of discrimination. Also, the system itself is very expensive since the cost of death exceeds the cost endless imprisonment. Capital punishment is dead wrong. It's time that our justice system repel against these barbaric ways to enhance equity of

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I use this source to support my claim that the death penalty costs more than life imprisonment. Spangenberg and Walsh’s research showed actual numbers and analysis of costs for the death penalty. I cited their research by using their New York study that compared a death penalty trial with the cost of life imprisonment. Robert Spangenberg earned his bachelors of science in Business administration at Boston University School of Business. He also earned a bachelors of law at Boston University School of Law.

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Capital punishment is one of the most controversial issues in the criminal justice system. Some of the problems with the use of the death penalty are execution prices are very high, it is an unjust punishment, and mistakes can happen and an innocent person might be put to death. According to Richard Dieter,

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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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“JFA [Justice for All] estimates that life in prison cases will cost $1.2 million-$3.6 million more than equivalent death penalty cases.” (Pros and Cons - Death penalty) Even though the cite states that death penalty cases are generally more expensive in the beginning than life in prison cases, people argue that given time, with life in prison, the cost of keeping someone alive in prison for the rest up their life will add up and would soon cost more money than if the prisoner was sentenced to death. Since part of what pays to keep prisoners alive in jail is taxpayer money, many people use this to justify the death penalty, because people don’t want their hard earned cash being used to keep someone who has killed multiple people in prison for life when it would cost less in a long run to quickly execute the inmate. People also use the simple phrase of, “an eye for an eye” to justify the legality of the death penalty, where if a person commits a murder then he should be executed for depriving a family of a loved one.

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“Although 31 of the 50 states have statutes which provide capital punishment for one or more crimes, and hundreds of prisoners remain confined in state prisons under sentence of death, only 32% of those first convicted go on to death row, and 8% of those on death row die before they are executed” (Sellin). The Death Penalty: Who Deserves It? The discussion of what’s morally correct is debated in courts every month, and less than half of criminals who originally receive the death penalty sentence actually go on to death row.

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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

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(Telegraph 2010) he deserved this decision for what he did. Although the death penalty can be very lethal there are mistakes all the time, 4.1 percent of death row inmates are innocent this is a huge statistic considering that 1,392 people were killed since 1976. That is roughly 58 people that have been innocent on death row and didn’t get a fair trial. Yet we do nothing to protest or fix this.

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Countless amounts students are not putting in enough effort into getting good grades at school. This is why schools are making a plan to get students to achieve better grades. A student’s motivation to do well in school should be their desire to learn, not only do it for the money. This makes school more of a business transaction the a place to learn and grow. Also, there are no beneficial outcomes paying students for acceptable grades have in the long run.

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