As the land of the free, did you know that America is ranked number 7, out of all the 45 countries worldwide that allow capital punishment, for how many executions they had carried out in 2018? America’s rank has gone down since 2013, being ranked number 5 then, but we still have 30 countries that condone the death penalty, and that adds to that staggering rank. According to FindLaw’s team of legal writers, “The early history of death penalty laws [dates to] the 18th century B.C. and can be found in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. The Hammurabi Code . . . prescribed the death penalty for over 20 different offenses . . . you could be executed for theft, perjury, and other crimes that today are punished much more lightly in most countries” (History of Death Penalty Laws, par. 3). Back then, these punishments would be carried out in a multitude of different ways including boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, beheading and drawing and quartering. Through the years this practice has stuck and been included in other civilizations’ and cultures’ rules until even now, finding its way to The United States of America.
The practice was brought to the 13 colonies from European settlers and the first recorded execution was in the Jamestown Colony in 1608, enacted on a found spy of Spain, Capt. George Kendall. Over the years following his death, the colonies embraced the idea of execution even further. According to Morgan Baskin, a former editorial assistant for Pacific Standard and currently a writer for VICE, “. . . authorities could hang settlers for a crime as small as stealing grapes or killing a neighbor's chicken. The penal code in America's first colony was, in fact, so harsh its governor eventually reduced the number of capital offenses out of fear that settlers would refuse to live there.” (par. 1). The main method of execution in early America was by hanging, due to its simplicity and usual immediate death, however, this was still problematic at times. Depending on the length of the noose, the condemned would either slowly strangle if the rope was too short or be decapitated if the rope was too long. This led to a new method being sought after and in 1890 brought about the use of the electric chair. The electric chair remained the primary method of capital punishment in the United States for some years until an “Oklahoma legislator asked Jay Chapman, the state’s chief medical examiner, to help create a method to replace electrocution. Chapman, . . . devised a three-drug cocktail . . . If administered via intravenous injection, he said, it would anesthetize and paralyze an inmate and then stop his heart. Texas was the first state to use lethal injection, in 1982; by the 1990s, the method was widespread” (Ford, par. 7). Today, the 5 methods of execution used are hanging, electrocution, firing squad, the gas chamber, and lethal injection; lethal injection being the most common. There are now 41 capital offenses in the United States that would constitute seeking the death penalty, those charges are saved for more heinous crimes, mainly including murder, than they were previously in colonial times. There have been many instances in United States history where capital punishment cases were halted in search of a more “humane” manner of execution. Which brings up the question: Can the death penalty ever be considered humane? Taking the life of someone is more than likely what got someone in that position today and the solution that we have come to is to take another life as the punishment. Another important factor to consider with the death penalty is that for every capital punishment case, there is a trial. Within this trial, it is established with a whole court proceeding the innocence of the person accused. Mistakes are always inevitable though, it is estimated that 4% of people who have been on death row, also including those still on death row, are innocent. Multiple cases have already been reexamined and it was discovered of death row inmates are innocent, but some were too late as their execution had already taken place. Capital punishment is an expensive means to justice that is just unnecessary, it does not help with any crime rates to keep people from committing such acts, and it counters religious morals as well as ethical morals stated in our constitution. For these reasons and many more, we should abolish the death penalty.
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We should abolish the death penalty because it is more expensive in both the court cases seeking a death penalty sentence, as well as in housing a death row inmate rather than keeping them as a prisoner in the general population. There are a lot more expenses that come with seeking the death penalty in capital punishment cases than comes in a regular trial for life imprisonment charges. Legal fees are a big cost of this. Because the cases are so complicated, prosecutors and attorneys end up spending more time preparing for these trials, even needing more staff to assist them with the workload. The more time they spend working on these cases, the more they can bill for, sometimes ranging as high as $100 per hour for thousands of hours of work over the course of years. Kelly Erb, a tax attorney, and writer, states that “. . . defending a death penalty case costs about four times as much as defending a case where the death penalty is not considered,” (par. 9) which is important since it is your tax dollars going into seeking this judgement. As well as trying to create a better case for their defendants, prosecutors, and attorneys will spend more on experts to help support their facts to their side of the case. Often in death penalty cases, an appeals court can try to reverse a death sentence for any reason such as any evidence not shown or faulty work of the prosecutor or attorney. The county would then have to pay to have a whole other trial, making it so that now they have just doubled their costs; which is common in death penalty cases so that the defendant gets a fair trial. Peter Collins, an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, and Aliza Kaplan, a Professor and Director of Criminal Justice Reform Clinic, words “Ever since Furman v. Georgia in 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that additional safeguards are necessary to protect these rights in death penalty cases,” (par. 12) showing that the ruling in that court case proved to be detrimental in getting fair trials for potential death row inmates. Looking at all the facts of the case also includes looking into the history of the accused which means they also must hire mitigation investigators to check their medical records, search and speak with their family about their childhood, which can include travel costs if they are from another state.
Many people would argue that housing as well as feeding an inmate for life would incur more costs, rather than sentencing them to death. A simple thought as it would make sense not to have to take care of them for life, especially being that many think they are not important to society due to their crimes and transgressions. Killing them would save money instead of feeding them, housing them, less security going to that person, and would also help with prison overcrowding to make room for new inmates. However, because the death penalty is being sought, many do not consider just how long the death penalty takes to be put into effect. Even after the trial is over and they have their death sentence, death row inmates can end up waiting as long as a decade, to even 15 years, for the sentence to be carried out. During these years of waiting, because of their more serious charges, they are kept in solitary which means more is spent on security for them and to keep them away from the general population of other inmates serving time. Kimberly Amadeo, the president of WorldMoneyWatch, states in her article “A Susquehanna University report found that, on average, across all 50 states, a death row inmate costs $1.12 million more than a general population inmate. In July 2018, there were 2,738 inmates on death row. That's almost $3 billion additional expense than if they had all been sentenced to life in prison instead” (par. 15) showing just how much taxpayers' dollars are spent because of this verdict. Moreover, death row inmates end up reaching older ages with how long they wait and require more medical treatment than others to keep them healthy enough until they receive their punishment. They also require more mental health visits due to always worrying about when will be their last day. Even with the waste of all this money put into their trials, about half of the people on death row will not be executed due to other factors.
We should abolish the death penalty because it does not actually do anything to deter people from committing crimes. There have been many cases seeking the death penalty that proves the point that it is not an actual solution. Even with knowing you can be killed for murdering other people, it still happens. Furthermore, states with the death penalty in effect do not see any reduction in their homicide rates from states that have done away with it. It has been found that “. . . among the 25 states with the highest murder rate, 20 have the death penalty” (Tures, par. 3). This itself proves the point there is no deterrence to homicides even with the risk of your own life on the line. It has been claimed that criminals are more likely to worry if they will ever be caught, not the consequences following their actions. There are no conclusive statistics in support of the death penalty being a deterrence to homicides or not. John Donohue, a law professor at Stanford University, explained it best saying, “’ The idea that the death penalty would reduce crime is a little bit like saying rain dancing is going to produce rain . . . There is no statistical study that has given us any reason to believe the death penalty reduces murder,’” (qtd. in Kassab, par. 7) speaking of Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala's decision to no longer seek the death penalty in cases it would normally be considered. With there being no correlation, it does not make sense to keep the death penalty as an option when life in prison would be a cheaper choice as well as the most logical solution.
Some people would still make the argument that even without the death penalty being a deterrence, criminals still need a punishment to match what they did to the victims’ families, or co-victims, saying they would want some sort of rectification for their loss. Often in death penalty trials, the prosecution will approach the co-victims to see if they would like to seek this judgment or life in prison, and if yes, they will testify in the trial and explain in front of the judge and jury how the death has affected them. Co-victims go through the many stages of grief after the loss of a loved one, of course at some point throughout this, and even after, they will feel anger; anger at their loved one being taken, and it is possible that “. . . this need for justice may be more accurately depicted as a need for revenge rather than retribution” (Vollum, pp. 17). However, seeking the death penalty should not be the answer. Giving a life sentence in jail would give the retribution they are looking for and is the simplest solution rather than taking the life of another. There are even many families that state that the defendant’s death would not bring them any closure, or peace, showing it is not something necessary to their grieving process.
We should abolish the death penalty because it goes against ethical morals stated in our constitution. Our fundamental rights as Americans are listed within our Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing our legal and civil rights as citizens in this country. The most important one to consider is The Eighth Amendment which states that punishments cannot be cruel or unusual and must be fair. This has caused many debates as states have considered if the death penalty is cruel or not. The American Civil Liberties Union points out the fact that “It is cruel because it is a relic of the earliest days of penology, when slavery, branding, and other corporal punishments were commonplace. Like those barbaric practices, executions have no place in a civilized society” (par. 11). Having the death penalty still in effect means we have not moved forward any further than when we first came to the New World. Most other countries have gotten rid of capital punishment, with the United States being the only one in North America with the practice still in effect. The other factor of consideration in whether it counteracts our Bill of Rights is that innocent people have been put on death row and their innocence is proven too late, going against fair punishments. Some are more fortunate, to say the least, and are cleared of their death row charges before their sentence is carried out, but still have spent years of their life jailed for a crime they had not committed. Sabrina Butler, an Assistant Director of Membership and Training at Witness to Innocence, notes that “Since 1973, 144 people have been exonerated and freed from death row in the U.S. . . . A study published by the National Academy of Sciences found that more than 4% -- one in every 25 -- of the death sentences in the U.S. are imposed on people who are innocent” (par. 9-10). Considering that these numbers are only comprised of innocents that were able to investigate and discover more facts about the case, there is no telling just how many people are missing from these startling statistics. Because of mistakes like these being made, it has cost too many people their lives, whether by being murdered due to capital punishment or having to spend years of their life in captivity that they will never get back.
Nevertheless, some would make the argument that the bible would give us the right to the death penalty. Growing up, you often would hear the phrase, “an eye for an eye,” basically concluding “a life for a life” where the death penalty is involved. This verse is from the Bible and is commonly used in favor of capital punishment. Ancient Israelis used capital punishment often to punish those involved in crimes such as murders, and rapes, and even against those who did not practice the ways of God or favored another belief. However, “In 2018, Pope Francis proclaim[ed] that the death penalty was, always and everywhere, “inadmissible” because human life ‘is always sacred in the eyes of the [C]reator’” (qtd. In Barry, pp. 1548). His admission of this shows that this was not the intention for the phrase to be construed and that this would not be a practice condoned by a religious believer.
Abolishing the death penalty is needed in America because it wastes our taxpayers’ money, it counters our constitution, and it does not hinder any heinous crimes from being committed. It is an inhumane act against mankind to condone killing in any manner, regardless of the actions that would eventually lead to the pleas for another life to be taken. There are many ways to get involved and help to make sure capital punishment is halted, ranging from a matter of minutes to even months or years of support. It is as easy as signing a petition to abolish the death penalty to show your support by going to change.org or any other website to voice your opinion. Another way you can help is to write to your local newspaper about your concern about the death penalty being used and any cases you yourself may have heard where a sentence is being sought. Or if you do not want your views to be so public, it can be as simple as writing to your state legislators regarding your views on the use of capital punishment. Abolishing the death penalty can have substantial impacts on our everyday lives by allowing us to put more tax dollars towards things we need like education, healthcare, etc. A great deterrence from crime has also been proven to be law enforcement so we could even put more tax dollars towards them, and we may see a drop in crime unlike with capital punishment now. Abolishing the death penalty would also make sure no more innocent people are jailed or killed for crimes they did not commit and stop the injustice of our legal system.
Work Cited
- Amadeo, Kimberly. “What Criminal Sentence Costs More: Death or Life in Prison?” The Balance, 6 June 2019. www.thebalance.com/comparing-the-costs-of-death-penalty-vs-life-in-prison-4689874. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- American Civil Liberties Union. “The Case Against The Death Penalty.” American Civil Liberties Union, The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, 2012. www.aclu.org/other/case-against-death-penalty. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Barry, Kevin. “The Death Penalty And The Fundamental Right To Life.” Boston College Law Review, June 2019, pp. 1545-1604. EBSCOhost. eds.a.ebscohost.com.fresno.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=78f24f16-01a9-4a3a-bb0c-b186f3208149%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=137618961&db=a9h. Accessed 7 Sept. 2019.
- Baskin, Morgan. “The Death Penalty in America: A Lethal History.” Pacific Standard. The Social Justice Foundation. 27 April 2018. psmag.com/magazine/the-death-penalty-in-america-a-lethal-history. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Butler, Sabrina. “I Spent More Than Six Years as an Innocent Woman on Death Row.” Time.com, May 2014, EBSCOhost. eds.b.ebscohost.com.fresno.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=12&sid=f073e9a6-1157-4bba-903a-e00856be872e%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=96333748. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Collins, Peter and Kaplan, Aliza. “The death penalty is getting more and more expensive. Is it worth it?” The Conversation, The Conversation US, Inc., 30 March 2017. theconversation.com/the-death-penalty-is-getting-more-and-more-expensive-is-it-worth-it-74294. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Erb, Kelly Phillips. “Considering The Death Penalty: Your Tax Dollars At Work.” Forbes: Taxes, Forbes. May 2014. www.forbes.com/sites/insights-whittiertrust/2019/07/08/planning-your-exit-five-questions-on-optimizing-results/#5253f5e27fa3. Accessed 1 Sept. 2019.
- FindLaw’s Team. “History of Death Penalty Laws.” FindLaw. FindLaw. 2019. criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/history-of-death-penalty-laws.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Ford, Matt. “A Brief History of American Executions.” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, June 2015. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/06/a-brief-history-of-american-executions/392270/. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Kassab, Beth. “Does the murder rate go up without the death penalty?” Orlando Sentinel. Orlando Sentinel. 23 March 2017. www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-does-death-penalty-deter-crime-20170321-story.html. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
- Tures, John. “Does The Death Penalty Reduce The Murder Rate?” HuffPost, HuffPost News. Dec 2017. www.huffpost.com/entry/does-the-death-penalty-re_b_13362760. Accessed 1 Sept. 2019.
- Vollum, Scott. Last Words and the Death Penalty: Voices of the Condemned and Their Co-victims. LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. 2008, EBSCOHost. eds.a.ebscohost.com.fresno.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?nobk=y&vid=11&sid=cb0265c6-7b10-4665-8e5e-0d0ffa2dcbd4@sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==#AN=214501&db=e000xna. Accessed 11 Sept. 2019.
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