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Lauren Terraglio

Mrs. Silverstein

Pre-AP English 2

4.6.2010

The Death Penalty- An Unjust Punishment for All

American author Helen Prejean once said “If we believe that murder is wrong and not

admissible in our society, than it has to be wrong for everyone, not just individuals but

governments as well,” (Debatepedia). Despite the obvious truth of her words, 36 states still use

some form of capital punishment, such as lynching, electrocution, lethal injection, asphyxiation

in a gas chamber, or death by firing squad (“36 States with Death Penalty”). Capital punishment

does not punish a wrongdoer- it provides them with a way out of a life otherwise filled with

prison time and hours upon hours to think about the crime they have committed. The family and

friends of the victim are emotionally scarred more than consoled by the doling out of a death

sentence, and many regret that they ever wished death upon a person, no matter what crimes that

person committed against them. There are no set standards for the death penalty- it is often only

considered if the prosecuting lawyer should request it, and the decision to request the death

penalty is often a biased one. The use of the capital punishment hinders the economy and also

seems to elevate the crime rates in the states that use it. The use of the death penalty violates an

individual’s right as a human being, and it shows a blatant disrespect towards the sanctity of life.

Furthermore, the use of “capital punishment” neither punishes the perpetrator nor consoles the

victims of his or her crime. This unfair, impartial, and dissatisfying form of punishment should

be forever abolished from the American legal system.

The average cost to keep a single inmate on death row is about $90 thousand. As of July

first, 2009, there were 3,297 inmates on death row in the United States (Death Penalty
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Information Center). American taxpayers are paying roughly $297 million for every year that

these inmates sit on death row, appealing their sentences and living on borrowed time. Because

of the multiple court appeals and long process an execution takes, many inmates die on death

row before ever being executed. In the state of New Jersey, there have been no executions since

1983, and yet state taxpayers have paid $253 million dollars since then (DPIC). If Florida were

to get rid of the death penalty and sentence all those convicted of first degree murder to a life in

prison with no possibility of parole, the state would save an average of $51 million each year

(DPIC). In the long run, American people are being punished for the ill doings of this country’s

criminals.

Though a logical thought process would lead one to believe that the implication of the

death penalty would deter crime, this is not the case (Data Blog). In fact, there is significant

evidence to support the theory that the use of capital punishment actually increases the crime rate

in a region. For example, since the abolishment of the death penalty in Canada, murder rates in

that country have dropped 27% (Amnesty International). In a New York Times survey, it was

shown that states that still use capital punishment have murder rates of up to 101% more than

states that do not use it (NCADP). Even authorities, such as Manhattan District Attorney Robert

M. Morgenthau, have admitted that capital punishment does not deter crime rates.

When an inmate is executed, however gruesome death is, they are ultimately being set

free from any further punishment or suffering. Should an inmate be put into prison, they would

have to endure for years the harsh life of a prisoner. By choosing to incarcerate them rather than

incinerate them, the sanctity of human life is not being kept sacred once, but twice- the first time

for the inmate who is allowed to live and a second time for the victim of a heinous crime, a

victim whose assailant is not let off easily, but made to pay for their misdeeds.
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One must also not ignore that when a person’s life is ended, it is not truly the end of

anything. The families and friends of the victim are greatly affected by the sentence given to the

person who harmed their loved one. Oftentimes, loved ones push for the death penalty, because

they want retribution for the wrongs that have been done against them and the person who has

been so abruptly taken away from them. But after watching the execution they so ardently

wished for, the friends and family who have been left behind are often left emotionally damaged,

as are the families of the inmate who has been killed (DPIC). One man, Ronald Carlson, after

watching the execution of the man who killed his sister, said that while he at first wanted the

death penalty for the man who had harmed her, “Watching the execution left me with horror and

emptiness, confirming what I had already come to realize: Capital punishment only continues the

violence that has a powerful, corrosive effect on society.” Carlson asks “As a society, shouldn’t

we be more civilized than the murderers we condemn?” This question deserves serious

consideration, and should one really think about it, the only real answer is “Yes.”

Many people are familiar with the phrases “An eye for an eye,” and “Turn the other

cheek.” What an individual decides to do is completely and totally a personal decision, but let he

who is without misdeeds cast the first stone. By allowing the death penalty as a legitimate and

legal form of punishment, American citizens aren’t upholding justice, they are sinking to the

level of those who break the laws they so fervently try to uphold. No worthy punishment is really

being given, and in the end, it is the citizens of this country who are paying, both literally and

figuratively, for the crimes committed against them. Capital punishment harms the economy, the

country’s crime rate, and the family and friends that victims leave behind. Therefore, just

societies ought not use the death penalty to punish their criminals.
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Works Cited

"36 States with Death Penalty / 41 Federal Capital Crimes - Death Penalty - ProCon.org." Death

Penalty ProCon.org. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001172>.

"Argument: Killing Is Never Justified; the Death Penalty Is No Exception - Debatepedia."

Welcome to Debatepedia! - Debatepedia, Debatepedia the Wikipedia of Debates. Web.

06 Apr. 2010.

<http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Argument:_Killing_is_never_justified

%3B_the_death_penalty_is_no_exception>.

"Costs of the Death Penalty." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty>.

"Costs of the Death Penalty." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty>.

Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org>.

"Death Row Inmates by State and Size of Death Row by Year." Death Penalty Information

Center. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-row-inmates-state-

and-size-death-row-year#year>.

"Death Row Inmates by State and Size of Death Row by Year." Death Penalty Information

Center. Web. 06 Apr. 2010. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-row-inmates-state-

and-size-death-row-year#year>.
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"Forms of Execution in the United States, 1977 - 2007 - Death Penalty - ProCon.org." Death

Penalty ProCon.org. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001623>.

"Inside Data.gov: US Homicide Rates by State and Type | News | Guardian.co.uk." Latest News,

Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/oct/05/us-homicide-rates>.

NCADP - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.ncadp.org/index.cfm?content=25>.

"New Voices - Victims' Families." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.

<http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-voices-victims-families>.

"Race of Death Row Inmates Executed Since 1976." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 06

Apr. 2010. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-death-row-inmates-executed-

1976#Vic>.