Megan Brown

Julia Ellis
Intro to Criminal Justice
June 16, 2017

Reflective Essay: The Death Penalty

The death penalty has been around for as long as recorded history, as far back as the Code

of Hammurabi. It has always been apart of the different cultures in each part of the world, there

hasnt been a time that we know of that it has ever been completely outlawed. It started as the

go-to punishment for any crimes at the top of the list. The severity of the crimes punishable by

death have varied greatly over time though. Throughout the use of the Code of Hammurabi in

Babylon, robbery was punishable by death, as well as accepting a runaway into your home

without telling someone, or accusing someone of something and not being able to prove it.(Trans

L. W. King) These are all things that today, wouldnt even make it past a police report, and

maybe a follow up for the robbery. It has varied greatly over our history how severe the crime

needs to be, to equal capital punishment. This is why the Death Penalty is so controversial.

The controversy doesnt end there though. There are many more factors that are

accounted for when discussing the pros and cons of capital punishment. Cost, race, proof of

guilt, forms of execution, deterrence and gender are just a few more of the many things that

make deciding whether or not the death penalty is a valid punishment. And there isnt always a

clear answer for these. Cost, for example, in regards to the death penalty is a very hard thing to

find consistent information on. The resources that support the death penalty break down cost in a

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very different way than the resources that condone the death penalty. The supporters of capital

punishment use averages, the average cost of each death penalty that has been done. Those who

opposed capital punishment use day by day numbers including trials, lawyers, tax money etc., vs.

day by day of being in jail or prison. This makes it appear as though jail or prison would be less

expensive, often because of the large costs associated with appeals and the court system.

The severity of capital punishment isnt always used on only the most severe of crimes, it

has been used on those whose sentences may have had a very different outcome had their skin

been a different color, and vice versa. And the color skin of the offender is not the only thing

taken into account. Racism is a common occurrence with the victims too. If the victim(s) is

white, the proceeding of the death penalty is more likely than if the victims were any other

race(aclu.org). This is a huge red flag, and is something that should be considered when

weighing the pros and cons of capital punishment.

Originally, I didnt have much of an opinion on the death penalty at all. But after

researching this further, and taking into account the arguments from many sides of the spectrum,

I have concluded that the death penalty should be removed completely. There isnt a way to

balance the bias that comes with arresting, representation, and sentencing. There are so many

people that have ended up on Death Row who have been innocent, and for all we know, only a

lucky few have been able to prove so before their execution. I recently saw a campaign that

Lush, a beauty company, was participating in to help eradicate the death penalty and I plan to

pay more attention to the campaign and the benefits that could come of it. When I was at Lush,

and they were telling me about their campaign and their goal to eradicate capital punishment, I

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wasnt sure how to respond because I hadnt yet formed an opinion on this. I have concluded

though, that they are headed in the right direction. Capital Punishment should be eradicated for

the well-being of our society on many levels. I think our society would benefit from removing

capital punishment in things like deterrence of crime, cost, and the racism that we have

throughout our country.

The sources I used when researching this topic ranged in bias. The site that I referred the

most to, had the most balance of bias though. It definitely wasnt supporting the death penalty,

but it gave many resources and facts regarding it, and the resources were both in favor and

against capital punishment. DeathPenaltyInfo.org (DPIC) was the most commonly used resource

for this paper, and it had the most helpful links on it. This website had posts daily on current

death penalty cases that are happening, as well as all of them in the past and it had the history of

the death penalty including the different aspects of it, like race, gender, innocence, deterrence,

and much more. I think it is a great resource for those looking for more information on this topic.

I love what John Connor says, The reality is that the death penalty is not, and never has

been, a deterrent. Prison safety depends on proper staffing, equipment, resources and training.

Certainly the money spent on trying to put someone to death for over 20 years could and better

use in addressing those practical needs of our correctional system. . .(Dieter, Richard C.). The

cost of trials, representation, appeals and other applicable costs could be better used to address

the correctional system, and the problems rooted in our society even. Before this research, I

didnt much care that the death penalty was a part of our society, and throughout the world. I had

the mentality of an eye for an eye, without evaluating the real life problems that occur with

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defining why or why not the death penalty should be maintained as a form of punishment. More

than anything, Id rather we spend our money and resources towards finding the root causes of

problems in our society and working to fix those. The safety of our communities depends on us

continuously working together to solve those problems, not just simply killing the people that are

participating in these problems.

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"The Code of Hammurabi." The Avalon Project : Code of Hammurabi. Trans. L. W. King. Yale

Law School, 2008. Web. 21 June 2017.

"Race and the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. American Civil Liberties Union

Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 June 2017.

Dieter, Richard C. "Smart on Crime: Reconsidering the Death Penalty in a Time of Economic

Crisis." Deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center, Oct. 2009. Web. 19 June 2017.

"What's New." DPIC | Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d.

Web. 20 June 2017.