We all have made mistakes at one time or another in our lives. But the big thing is what the consequences will be for those mistakes. The death penalty is our way of justice to those who have committed serious crimes. Though I have to ask, is the death penalty really effective? Surely it must be it is taking the criminal off the street and preventing them from ever doing their crime again, right? Unfortunately, many people believe that this is the case, and they would be right. Many firmly believe in the ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ statement believing that someone who has done a serious crime should receive the most extreme punishment. But there is an alternative that is just as effective as the death penalty, a life sentence in prison. As a society, we must realize that there are in fact consequences for the death penalty. The possibility that innocent people will be sentenced, the high cost to the states, and the final decision to sentence someone to death is just unfair.
Not everyone who receives the death penalty is guilty of a crime. In fact, some have been proven innocent long after they had been put to death. Through DNA testing, we are able to find out if a suspect is guilty or innocent in some cases. But not every innocent person is fortunate enough to be spared in time. Sometimes the evidence needed to prove someone’s innocence is hard to obtain and because there is a limited time period the person may get executed before the evidence is ever found. The justice system cannot guarantee that everyone who gets the death penalty is guilty. If there is so much a chance that one innocent person can be killed by the death penalty then it must be abolished. Just think about how much one person can contribute to society. Even if an innocent life gets spared they can’t get back the time they spent on death row. States will try to pay for lost income that could have been made while in prison. But no amount of money can make up for lost time. When a life is at stake there is no room for error and yet mistakes are still being made. It is a mistake that is irreversible. The government is murdering innocent people but what is worse is how they find this to be an acceptable loss. What message are we sending to our people, to other countries, the United States is one of the few countries that still has the death penalty. The death penalty certainly has a high cost in more ways than we realize.
The death penalty can cost a lot of money making it a huge economic burden to our states. The death penalty is not benefitting society at all. In fact, it is more or less harming our society and especially our economy. The money being spent on the death penalty would be better spent in other areas, so that we can relieve this financial crisis we all are in. It takes a long time to go through the process of the death penalty, especially if they appeal their case which in turn costs millions of dollars. Now that is a lot of money spent for just five executions. There are even states that have had no executions, but still paid millions of dollars toward the death penalty. It actually costs more money to keep people on death row than it does for a life sentence in prison. The expenses for the death penalty are tremendous, but I must ask is it fair.
The decision to sentence someone to death is really unfair. I mean, who are we to decide whether someone lives or dies in a justifiable way? We have a judge and a jury who are making these unthinkable decisions. The final decision is based on a reasonable doubt, provided there is enough evidence to prove someone’s guilt than it is beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is guilty. There is no guarantee in law; there is no sure way to prove someone is innocent or guilty. But in the case that the only options are the death penalty or life in prison can the judge or jury make a decision based on reason. I think not, but rather they base their decision off of emotion and whether or not they feel the person deserves to live or die. Whereas racial bias is another factor that can potentially play a role in death penalty cases. This is unacceptable, personal feelings should not be involved in cases that are as serious as these. There is a lot of people who are against the death penalty, unfortunately there is just as many that are in favor.
Some believe that the death penalty deters crime. The death penalty may prevent people on death row from ever committing any more crimes. But it won’t prevent people that aren’t on death row from committing crimes. The reason I say this is because most criminals do not think about the consequences of their actions. One of the reasons the death penalty exists is because of how it’s supposed to serve as an example to others. However, a recent survey asked the country’s top criminologist about their thoughts on the death penalty being a deterrent.The death penalty is no better than life in prison when it comes to being a deterrent. Violence will never deter violence. The death penalty will never reduce crime rates.
Some say that the death penalty is the best way to punish someone. In some cases friends and family of the victims have stated that they would much rather see the offender repent for his crimes. I mean, isn’t prison just a way to house and rehabilitate people who can’t live in normal society. We can only hope that in time they will feel sorry for their crimes. Is it selfish for us to seek vengeance only if it makes ourselves feel better? Forgiveness may very well be the hardest thing, but it is a powerful thing. Forgiveness makes us better people. Some would say that a life sentence in prison without parole is actually worse than the death penalty. Being left to stare at the walls in a jail cell for the rest of their lives not being able to do the things they did in the outside world, this is punishment enough.
In the end, the death penalty is an unfair system that has the potential to make mistakes and cost us in more ways than we realize. Although there may be advantages to the death penalty the disadvantages are far worse. The death penalty is an ineffective way to serve justice. Sure, it might make us feel better knowing that another criminal won’t be committing any more crimes. But is this the right way to go about deterring crime. Is it really the most effective way to punish someone, sentencing them to death? I believe that it is not the best solution and there is an alternative that is far better and with fewer consequences. Life imprisonment, it is more cost effective, if someone is ever proven innocent they can be released, and it is just as good at deterring crime as the death penalty. So what type of future for our justice system do we want? One where if a mistake is made it can’t truly be fixed or one where the mistakes can be made right again.