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This is
simple fact that it just doesn't work. It isn't a deterrent:
because there are criminals who suffer from mental
introducing the death penalty doesn't reduce crime in
any significant way. It isn't cost effective: in a illnesses and a death sentence will not be able to
democratic society, the accused has the right to many, prevent them from doing bad things they cannot
many appeals because we don't want to kill the wrong control without proper medication.dominated by
person, as this would be the biggest possible violation people who favor the death penalty and are more
to rule of law. This means that death row inmates cost likely to vote to convict.
far more than people who are imprisoned for life. Now,
we could throw the constitution away, but I'd rather we
didn't. Furthermore, despite the many appeals Keeping killers off the streets for good:
available, 4% of death row inmates are still wrongly Life without parole, on the books in 49 states (all
accused. A single one is a tragedy. Take into account except Alaska), also prevents reoffending. It
that this amounts to a few cases EACH YEAR, and it means what it says, and spending the rest of
becomes outrageous! your life locked up, knowing you’ll never be free,
So, it doesn't deter anyone, it isn't cost effective, and it is no picnic. Two big advantages:
doesn't respect basic rule of law. It protects the public -an innocent person serving life can be released
from one individual, but so would a life sentence, so it from prison
has no added value whatsoever. But what about the -life without parole costs less than the death
subjective value of "he deserved it"?
penalty
By working on the subjective value of "merit" -
encouraging vengeance, basically, only with the State as Costs, a surprise to many people:
a mediator - we don't make society any better. Crime Study after study has found that the death
reform focusing on 1-making the criminal into a better
penalty is much more expensive than life in
person, 2-keeping society safe and 3-deterring crime is
WAY better for the general well-being of society than prison. The high costs of the death penalty are
the simple logic of "crime = punishment". The argument for the complicated legal process, with the largest
of "deserving" the punishment thus becomes moot. costs at the pre-trial and trial stages. The point is
One can simply look at northern Europe (or nearly any to avoid executing innocent people. The
other western nation in the world) to see how balancing tremendous expenses in a death penalty case
security and the reform of criminals is the best way to
apply whether or not the defendant is convicted,
deal with delinquent individuals.
let alone sentenced to death.
Victims: 02
People assume that families of murder victims of 05
want the death penalty imposed. It isn't "The Death Penalty is Cheaper Than Feeding
necessarily so. Some are against it on moral a Murderer for Life"
grounds. But even families who have supported
According to the Death Penalty Information
the death penalty in principle have testified to the
Center, independent studies in several
damage that the death penalty process does to states, including Oklahoma, reveal that
families like theirs and that life without parole is capital punishment is actually far more
an appropriate alternative. expensive to administer than life
imprisonment. This is due in part to the
lengthy appeals process, which still sends
It comes down to whether we should keep a innocent people to death row on a fairly
system for the sake of retribution or revenge regular basis.
even though it isn’t effective in reducing violent
crime, costs much more than alternatives and, In 1972, citing the Eighth and Fourteenth
Amendments, the Supreme Court abolished
worst of all, can lead to the nightmare of
the death penalty due to arbitrary
executing someone for a crime he didn’t commit. sentencing. Justice Potter Stewart wrote for
the majority:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for There are ways we can help provide closure
eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do for friends and family that do not involve
not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps serving a controversial policy objective. One
you on the right cheek, turn to them the solution is to fund free long-term mental
other cheek also. And if anyone wants to health care and other services to the
sue you and take your shirt, hand over your families of murder victims.
coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one
mile, go with them two miles. Give to the
one who asks you, and do not turn away
from the one who wants to borrow from
you.
10. Mentally ill patients may be put to 12. It often draws top talent laywers who will
death. Many people are simply born with work for little or no cost due to the
defects to their brain that cause them to act a publicity of the case and their personal
certain way. No amount of drugs, schooling, beliefs against the morality of the death
rehabilitation, or positive reinforcement will penalty, increasing the chances a
change them. Is it fair that someone should technicality or a manipulated jury will
be murdered just because they were unlucky release a guilt person. Top attorneys are
enough to be born with a brain defect. world-class manipulators. They know how
Although it is technically unconstitutional to to cover up facts and misdirect thinking.
put a mentally ill patient to death, the rules They know how to select juries sympathetic
can be vague, and you still need to be able to to their side. They know how to find obscure
convince a judge and jury that the defendant technicalities and use any other means
is in fact, mentally ill. necessary to get their client off without any
punishment. Luckily, most criminal
defendants cannot afford to hire these top
guns; they must make do with a low-paid
public defender or some other cheaper
attorney. However, a death penalty case
11. It creates sympathy for the monstrous changes everything. First of all, a death
perpetrators of the crimes. Criminals penalty case almost always garners
usually are looked down upon by society. significant media attention. Lawyers want
People are disgusted by the vile, that exposure, which enhances their name
unconscionable acts they commit and feel recognition & reputation for potential future
tremendous sympathy for the victims of plantiffs and defendants. Second of all,
murder, rape, etc. However, the death thousands of attorneys have made their
penalty has a way of shifting sympathy personal crusade in life the stomping out of
away from the victims and to the criminals the death penalty. Entire organizations have
themselves. An excellent example is the sprung up to fight death penalty cases, often
execution a few years ago of former gang providing all the funding for a legal defense.
leader "Tookie" Williams. He was one of the For an example, look no further than
original members of the notorious Crips the Casey Anthony trial, in which a pool of
gang, which has a long legacy of robbery, top attorneys took on a high profile death
penalty case and used voir dire and death penalty by the 1987 Constitution was a very big
peremptory challenges to craft one of the step towards a practical recognition of the dignity of
stupidest juries on record, who ended up every human being created to the image and likeness of
ignoring facts and common sense or release God, and of the value of human life from its conception
an obviously guilty woman who killed her
to its natural end. Every human being has the inherent
daughter. After the "not guilty" verdict was
right to life and this right must be protected by law.
rendered, defense attorneys such as Cheney
Mason went into long-winded speeches for However, this right is not as sacrosanct and Inviolable as
the media about the evils of the death it sounds.
penalty.
The mall principle In human rights law Is that no-one
shall be arbitrarily deprived of life. Amnesty
13. It is useless in that it doesn't bring the International (www. Misinterpretation_org_ retrieved
victim back to life. Perhaps the biggest January 18, 2013) states, “The death penalty violates
reason to ban the death penalty is that it the right to life. ” Capital punishment contradicts our
doesn't change the fact that the victim is moral beliefs and claims of a fair and just government.
gone and will never come back. Hate, This makes the death penalty our most fundamental
revenge, and anger will never cure the
human rights violation. It is the denial of the most basic
emptiness of a lost loved one. Forgiveness is
human rights. The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death
the only way to start the healing process,
and this won't happen in a revenge-focused Penalty www. Cad. Org retrieved January 15, 2013)
individual. states, “We don’t cut off the hands of thieves to protect
property; we do not stone adulterers to stop adultery.
We consider that barbaric. Yet we continue to take life
as a means of protecting life. ” No person, government-
affiliated or not, has the right to decide if another
human is worthy or unworthy of life. Our natural rights
as humans, which cannot be taken away by the
government, include the right to life….
Crime data are usually laden with many caveats, Figure 2. Source: Nagin & Pepper [2012] Deterrence and the
most notably underreporting. But despite these death penalty. Washington, DC: The National Academies
Press. Note: Data cover 1974 to 2009.
limitations, Figure 1 suggests at least 3 things.
Most tellingly, two-thirds of death row inmates had Unless this alarmingly high rate of “judicial errors”
a monthly wage on or below the minimum wage is fixed, bringing back the death penalty will only
(see Figure 3). Meanwhile, less than 1% of death put more innocent people on death
row inmates earned a monthly wage of more than
P50,000.One main reason behind this disparity is
that rich inmates have much more resources to
aggressively defend themselves in court (e.g., hiring
a battery of lawyers) compared to poor inmates.
Unless this imbalance is addressed,the death penalty
will only continue to be a vehicle for “selective
justice”.
Figure 3. Source: FLAG (2004) 'Socio-economic profile of Conclusion: The death penalty is a naïve way
capital offenders in the Philippines'. Note: Income brackets are of dealing with criminality
in nominal terms.