The Pros And Cons Of Capital Punishment

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Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal process in which a person is put to death as a punishment for a crime by the government of a nation. The United States is in the minority group of nations that uses the death penalty. There are thirty-three states that allow capital punishment and seventeen states that abolished it (Death Penalty Information Center). The morality of the death penalty has been debated for many years. Some people want capital punishment to be abolished due to how it can cost a lot more than life imprisonment without parole, how they think it is immoral to kill, and how innocent people can be put to death. However, the death penalty reduces overcrowding, provides closure for victim’s family, and is true justice. Capital punishment can deal with overpopulated prisons in the United States. Prison overcrowding is one of the contributing factors to poor prison conditions. Its consequences can prevent prisons from fulfilling their functions as well (penalreform.org). For example, it can increase sickness among the inmates and prison guards. It can also increase the difficulties for the guards to control the extra amount of inmates. California prisons were ordered by district court panel to release or transfer more than 33,000 inmates due to overcrowding in 2011 (CNN.com). This decision was made by the United States Supreme Court which said that the conditions in the overcrowded prisons are so overwhelming that unusual punishment must be held.