“An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind” a saying that we have all heard many times since our adolescence. The quote refers to getting even with another if they have wronged you in any way. What if someone came into your house and intentionally killed all of your family, what do you believe the murderer deserves? A sentence to life in prison provides food and shelter, a decent life for someone because they do not have to work to pay for everyday things that you and I work for. Us working means that taxes are taken out of our hard earned money and given to these people.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government sanctioned practice whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. Execution of criminals and political opponents has been used by nearly all societies both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. In most countries the practice of capital punishment it is reserved for murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. 1,188 people were executed in the US from 1977 through 2009, primarily by means of lethal injection. Like stated earlier "an eye for an eye" honors the victim, and helps console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to cause future tragedy.
Death penalty costs the government less as opposed to life imprisonment without parole. Professionals say despite expenses allocated by the government from imposing capital punishment, death penalty is still cheaper compared to the costs of life without parole. Although there is no contention that the cost of the former is high, life imprisonment is accumulatively higher given the expenses for food, health care and other costs of sustaining the lives of incarcerated individuals serving life.
It discourages people/ criminals to commit felonies. Advocates of death penalty cite examples on how imposing the death sentence or abolishing it have affected crime rate. According to a study conducted in the late 1960’s, there was a 7% crime rate increase on the years when this law was abolished. On the other hand, fewer crimes were committed with the increase in number of inmates in the death row who were executed each year. Proponents say that these figures clearly indicate the efficiency of capital punishment on deterring crimes.
The absence of the death penalty is like asking for a crime rate increase. As reported by time magazine, an estimated 2,000,000 people in the United States have been victims of crimes, from assault to murder. With insufficient laws to address this problem or the lack of enforcement in these laws, criminals become careless and continue to commit heinous crimes because of the leniency in punishments and loop holes in the justice system. For these reason, there is a need for death penalty.
Death penalty is a just punishment for crimes committed against the rights to life, freedom and safety of victims. It is the right of an individual to live peacefully and be free from harm. Unfortunately, crimes like murder, rape and assault are committed by perpetrators who have no regard for life and property of others. Since they violate other people’s lives, it is but fair that they are brought to justice and suffer the fate they rightfully deserve. People who are for capital punishment also talk about free will wherein an individual is given the right to do things in his or her own volition and he or she is responsible for his or her own fate.
Since 1976 there have been a handful of methods used in order for death row to be executed. Lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, and firing squad. Now in 2016 there are fewer means to follow through with the death penalty.
Who does the death penalty affect? From 1976 to 2016 each year there are fewer than 100 executions during that whole year. The race of the majority of defendants executed is contrary to what most people think. 55% of the individuals that are executed are composed of Caucasians. 35% are black, 8.4% are Hispanic and 1.6% are of other races. Most people think that the death penalty does not favor minorities but the data proves that thesis incorrect. In fact there are currently 32 states that have the death penalty in full effect and 18 that do not use the death penalty in their states. Any state can sentence someone to death but the act of lethal injection can only be administered in the states that have the death penalty. Why does it make sense to people to be able to sentence someone to death but not be able to administer the process where that individual was from and charged with the crime.
Capital punishment has been around for centuries but has not always been as humane as it is today. The actual act of administering the lethal injection is done by a team of people that work for prisons and their only job is to administer the drugs needed. These people are professionals; their job is serious and they treat it that way which is why they are trained and educated like doctors even though they are not doctors. No doctor or nurse is needed in the room. There are 3 medications that are used, the first one Sodium thiopental is used to induce unconsciousness, pancuronium bromide (Pavulon) to cause muscle paralysis and respiratory arrest, and potassium chloride to stop the heart. The whole process takes less than five minutes and is painless to the victim.
With overpopulation being an increasing problem in todays society most would say that if there are people who don’t need to be there why not do other things in order to stop overpopulation in prisons and jails. Some family members of crime victims may take years or decades to recover from the shock and loss of a loved one. Some may never recover. One of the things that helps hasten this recovery is to achieve some kind of closure. Life in prison just means the criminal is still around to haunt the victim. A death sentence brings finality to a horrible chapter in the lives of these family members. Our justice system shows more sympathy for criminals than it does victims and the victims and their families deserve more justice than that.
The opposing sides main focus is usually that victims are wrongly charged and sentenced to death and now with technology becoming way more advanced than it used to be. DNA testing and other methods of modern crime scene science can now effectively eliminate almost all uncertainty as to a person's guilt or innocence. Sure, we can never completely eliminate all uncertainty, but nowadays, it's about as close as you can get. DNA testing is over 99 percent effective. And even if DNA testing and other such scientific methods didn't exist, the trial and appeals process is so thorough it's next to impossible to convict an innocent person. Remember, a jury of 12 members must unanimously decide there's not even a reasonable doubt the person is guilty. The number of innocent people that might somehow be convicted is no greater than the number of innocent victims of the murderers who are set free.
