The Capital Punishment, Essay Example

Introduction

Capital punishment is another term for the death penalty. The death penalty has been used for centuries to discoursed criminals from committing unlawful acts. Society wants to prevent horrendous crimes from happening and therefore they use the death punishment to deter criminals. The capital punishment system is unreliable. Once a person has been executed, there is nothing that can be done to make amends of the wrong choice was made. There is much evidence that proves that since the before the late 1970s there has been over 650 people executed in the United States that were later believed to be innocent due to new evidence. These numbers alone represent the fact that it is very possible for an innocent person to be executed.Over time, as nations and people have evolved, so have perspectives on various issues like slavery, torture, and the death punishment. Many countries around the world have eliminated executions from their society. Yet, there is no consensus around the world about what is acceptable punishment for the most deviant criminals. Today, eighty-four countries still use capital punishment. In fact, China, the most populous country in the world, still executes thousands of people each year for various crimes. Some argue that the criminal justice system must embark on a more humane way to punish criminals. Activists, social reformers, and religious organizations argue that the death penalty should be outlawed. Nonetheless, it is obvious that some human beings are not inherently good. In the United States, there are five forms of capital punishment-firing squad, hanging, electrocution, lethal gas, and lethal injection. Firing squads and hangings are only used in a few states-Idaho, Oklahoma, Vermont, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Washington (Death Penalty Information Center, 2009).  However, the use of the death penalty is an effective and justifiable way to punish criminals of horrendous crimes.

Public Protection

Use the death penalty as a form of punishment ensures the protection of the public. The most effective part of the death penalty is the fact that it guarantees that offenders will never be members of society again; thus, ensuring that they cannot harm any others. The prison system has been criticized for having many loopholes and has even been accused of producing more deviant criminals than the streets.

Deterrent Theory

One of the arguments that is used to support capital punishment is that it serves as a deterrent for horrendous crimes. This is a faulty logic because it requires that the criminal considers the consequences of his crime. Adequately deterring criminals from committing crimes is a difficult task. According to this theory, using certain punishments, the death penalty, will make criminals think twice about committing horrendous crimes. When criminals receive capital punishment for crimes, it can be used as an example to would be criminals that if they commit certain crimes they will be punished accordingly. This will be effective for members of society who fear death. By nature, most human beings fear the unknown. Death is an unknown. There is also the fear of pain. All of the forms of the death penalty in the United States are accompanied by some level of pain. About 7 of 10 Americans support the death penalty for those who have been convicted of horrendous crimes like murder (Death Penalty, 2010).

Retribution for Families

Family members of the victims of horrible crimes report that they feel a sense of relief when the criminal is sentenced to death. Most family members feel that sentencing the offender to death is the only way they can get vengeance for their loved one. Since the late 1970s, about 1400 hundred people have been executed in the United States. Another 3100 remain on death row in the United States today. The state of Alabama sentences more people to death row than any other state in the country. Researchers have concluded that because Alabama judges can over a jury’s decision. More than 20 percent of people on death row in Alabama received their sentences by a judge who suspended a jury’s decision. Victims who have to cope with the death of a loved one have a difficult time, especially when they feel the punishment was too lenient. When a person is murdered, the family members are unable to go through the natural grieving process. Normally the grieving process begins with denial, but when the victim is murdered, the first phase is anger. Due to this anger, the family members want immediate gratification to suffice for the pain they are feeling. For example,

“When death occurs as a result of a violent crime, survivors’ anger may be compounded and their reactions more complicated. Many homicide survivors are surprised and frightened by the intensity of anger and violence they feel toward those who killed their loved ones. Homicide survivors may devise elaborate plans of revenge that involve the murderer suffering more cruelly and graphically than the victim. To fantasize acting out rage or revenge is a normal reaction for a bereaved survivor” (Fleury-Steiner, Benjamin. (2010).

Sentencing offenders to death gives the victims’ families a sense of closure.

Arguments Against

Many persons arguing against the death penalty point out that it does not offer offenders a second chance or the chance for rehabilitation-which is the foundation for the correctional system. Researchers have pointed out that the death penalty does not address the root cause of criminal behaviors like rape, murder, and violent robbery. In their opinion, this is a reactive approach rather than a proactive approach, which means the cause is addressed. However, this belief can be refuted because obtaining rehabilitation in the penal system is probabilistic. In fact, evidence has shown that many criminals are more deviant when they are released from prison than they were when they entered. For example, most criminals that are finally sentenced to death have more than 50 “run-ins” with the law that required jail time (Villaume, 2009)

Taxpayer Dollars

The costs of operating prison facilities in the United States are astronomical. There are more than 41,000 people serving life. In the past 30 years, the population of incarcerated people has risen drastically. The operating costs for the average prison exceed 50 billion dollars a year. Tax payers pay about 32 million dollars a year to operate prisons. It costs on average about 22, 000 dollars a year to house in inmate for one year. That amount can quickly add up. If an inmate is in prison for five years for committing a crime taxpayers will end up paying more than 100, 000 dollars to house, feed, and provide medical care for the inmate. So, the average cost to house an inmate for life would be about 1.5 million dollars. For example, serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the night stalker, died of natural causes in June of 2013 while he was serving a life sentence of death row. Ramirez committed over 30 crimes during the early to late 1980s. He was convicted of 13 murders and sentenced in 1989.  On June 11, 2001, Timothy McVeigh was the first federal prisoner executed in the United States in 38 years. (Bedau, Hugo Adam, 2009).  Since this time, there have been numerous mass shootings and terror attacks. All of which, many believe are deserving of the death penalty.

When the costs are added up, most states are paying more to operate prisons than they are on educational facilities. Each year, financial cuts are made to the educational funds, but one never hears of funds being cut from the penal system.

Conclusions

Some people view the death penalty as an inhumane way to be punished for a crime. Nevertheless, it is an effective way to govern society by deterring criminals from committing certain types of crimes. The family members of the victims want closure and even revenge for the horrible crimes that have been inflicted upon their loved one. The death penalty will save tax payers a great deal of money that is loss in feeding and housing prisoners.

References

Bedau, Hugo Adam. (2009). Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Death Penalty Information Center. (2010). States With and Without the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information Center

Fleury-Steiner, Benjamin. (2010). Narratives of the death sentence: Toward a theory of legal narrativity. Law and Society Review 36, no. 3: 549–576.

Herbert, Bob. (2009) Convicted, Executed, Not Guilty.NY Times: n. page. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

Villaume, A. C. (2009). Life without parole” and “virtual life sentences: Death sentences by any other name. Contemporary Justice Review, 8(3), 265-277