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On Death Row
We are on the top five most deadly murderers list in the world (CNN Staff 1). No, I am not talking about me or you, or little miss Sally across the street. I am talking about the United States of America. 3019 people were put on death row since the year started in the this country. (Fins 3) A brutal punishment for a brutal crime. Although some argue the punishment should fit the crime, the death penalty cannot and should not fit due to its contradictory nature, the international implications, and the entire purpose of the justice system in the United States. There are many arguments with merit regarding the death penalty on both sides of the philosophical dilemma. Valid points have been made in support of this punishment, including the cheaper cost, the success at deterrence, and the fact that it is a fitting punishment for the crimes committed. However, each of these arguments have a valid flaw. Regarding cost, executions were cheaper when performed in less humane ways, such as shooting people. However, the federal court process required to seek the death penalty, coupled with dwindling drug supply, actually makes death penalty cases more expensive than placing prisoners in jail their entire life.
Federal cases reported a cost eight times higher than cases without the death penalty (DPIC 3). Regarding deterrence, there are countries that cut off people’s hands when they steal. This has been proven to be extremely effective at deterring crime. Yet we do not cut off people’s hands. This is because it is constitutionally “cruel and unusual,” as well as morally wrong. Therefore, the morality of the death penalty should be considered when determining whether to use it, not the effectiveness or benefits associated with it. Finally, in our justice system, a punishment does not need to fit the crime, because that would redefine the entire point of our westernized justice system.
Before the jail system we came to use today came to be, prisoners were publicly humiliated, tortured, and executed. Jail came into favor because it deterred people from committing crime just like the public spectacles and, unlike the public spectacles, reformed the prisoners themselves. Jail decreased the likelihood that prisoners would commit another crime. As such, we can derive the point of our justice system currently: to reform criminals so they can leave prison without committing another crime and become a productive member of society. The other point of the justice system: to prevent those unable to become productive members of society from harming others. The death penalty, therefore, is directly against these purposes of our justice system. It does not attempt to reform criminals nor is it used to prevent future crimes; it is a punishment. Life without parole would be protection for society, death is a medium for exacting revenge. This contradiction should not exist in our society. Even killers can be reformed, and if they cannot, they should be jailed, not killed. The death penalty has not been proven to deter crime. In fact, states without the death penalty currently have lower murder rates than those that do. Even among neighboring states, the states with the death penalty have higher homicide rates (DPIC 3). This means the death penalty could not be successful at deterring crime; it could even be doing just the opposite. This further exemplifies the fact that we, as a nation, use the death penalty as a tool for revenge, not for the benefit of society. In fact, the death penalty does the opposite of deterrence because many people believe life, without parole and in prison, would not be worth living. There is a reason 141 people since 1976 have volunteered to be executed (DPIC 1). So, by removing the death penalty, crime will, statistically, decrease.
People in the United States are negatively affected by the death penalty regardless of if they have committed a crime. Criminals are no longer being extradited to the US because we have the death penalty, leaving possible debts unpaid, and justice unserved (DPIC 1). Drug companies that create drugs used to administer the lethal injection are beginning to refuse to sell those drugs, regardless of other possible purposes. The drugs in short supply leads to increased drug cost and reduced dosages to those being lethally injected; in some cases it does not directly kill the patient. (De Vogue) Cases were documented where the drug meant for tranquilizing the subject was ineffective, leaving many in severe pain to die (DPIC). Innocent people are killed by executions. Since 1976, the Death Penalty Information Center lists 10 possibly innocent people executed in the US with strong evidence of actual innocence. Colorado Law Web found an inexcusably high 350 cases between 1900 and 1984. And there may be more, considering that appeals to the sentence cease on someone’s death, so possibly innocent people put to death cannot be proven innocent. This is a problem in and of itself, as people should always have a right to try to prove themselves innocent. On top of this, inmates on death row are reduced to essentially solitary confinement, an equally devastating punishment known to adversely affect mental status. Normally used in a period of hours to discipline rowdy prisoners, death row inmates are subject to it for many years (ACLU 1).
Is an insane person innocent? Perhaps not, but do they deserve to die for it? The trouble with this is that juries will rarely declare someone insane as justification of their innocence. Insanity pleas are, ironically, insane to plea. In fact, despite constitutional wording making the metally ill unable to stand trial, 5-10% of death row inmates are estimated to be mentally ill (ACLU 1). As a result, crazy people are punished for crimes they had little to no control over committing, another way innocent are harmed by this policy.
Death penalty is not a fairly given to convicts. Women and caucasian are less likely to be sentenced to death, (Fins 3) and certain counties in states are much more likely to convict to death than others. In fact, about 9 of the 94 of the federal judicial districts host a half of the capital sentencing, five times what it should be (Cohen and Smith 12). This means that the sentence of the convicted is based on geographic location and genetics more than relevant factors like severity of the crime.
So, in America, we pay money to increase crime by means of torture in select areas while simultaneously depleting our drug supply and hampering our international status. This policy is archaic in nature, which is why current trends have states leaning away from capital punishment and toward more fair and humane punishments. Crime should not go unpunished, but surely this nation can do better than killing our killers and claiming we had the morally higher ground.
Works Cited "A Death Before Dying: Solitary Confinement on Death Row." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2015. "Death Penalty." Death Penalty. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. "Death Penalty ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. "Mental Illness and the Death Penalty" American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2015. "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity." Criminal Resources:. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. Staff, CNN. "Death Penalty Facts That May Surprise You." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. "Solitary Confinement Should Be Banned in Most Cases, UN Expert Says." UN News Center. UN, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 May 2015. Vogue, Ariane De. "Drug Shortage Disrupts Lethal-Injection Mix." ABC News. ABC News Network, 16 Mar. 2011. Web. 27 May 2015. "What's New." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. Fins, Deborah. Death Row U.S.A. N.p.: NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., Winter 2015. PDF. Furman, H. Patrick. Wrongful Convictions and the Accuracy Of the Criminal Justice System. N.p.: The Colorado Lawyer, 11 Sept. 2003. PDF.
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