Against the Death Penalty
Although the Supreme Court has yet to rule the capital punishment unconstitutional, since Georgia v. Gregg, the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment. Supporters argue that this is not the case, but how can a punishment get more cruel and unusual when the end result is the loss of life? Amnesty International says:
It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment (“Amnesty International,” 2003).
Aside from the obvious pain of death, death row inmates must sit, sometimes for twenty years or more, waiting, and knowing they are going to die at the hands of the state. A better alternative is life in prison without parole.
Incapacitation of the criminal is one of the reasons supporters want to keep the death penalty. A criminal, not allowed to live, has no possibility of repeating the crime. This is certainly true, but the problem is that society has no way of knowing whether or not a particular person will repeat a criminal activity. Life in prison is a better was of ensuring a person doesn’t commit any additional crimes, while at the same time giving the felon the opportunity to rehabilitate. The death penalty is final, there is no turning back. If new evidence turns up later, exonerating the offender, it is too late. Since 1973, twelve death row inmates were exonerated due to DNA evidence. One of them, Nicholas J. Yarris, convicted in 1981 “for the abduction, rape, and murder of a Delaware county mother of three for which he was convicted” (Fuoco, 2003). Yarris spent twenty-one years on death row. At least society isn’t very quick to enforce the death penalty; otherwise an innocent man would have died.
Capital punishment does not accomplish the level of deterrence supporters say it does. In theory, the death penalty should deter other criminals from committing the same crime by making them stop and think about what they are doing and what the consequences of their actions will likely be. Most criminals “carry out their crimes in the heat of passion, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or under the assumption that they will not be caught” (Curran & Renzetti, 2001 p.14). If a person even thinks about getting caught they are likely a career criminal. This criminal will take many precautions to ensure they do not get caught. The rest of the murderers are simply not thinking. Either emotions or drugs are clouding their judgment, and in these case, logic, or even free choice cease to be a viable factor in their decision making process. Even if they are caught, the consequences of their actions likely won’t be the death penalty.
If the offender is caught, they are more likely to get life in prison rather than the death penalty. If they are sentenced to death they will sit on death row for twenty years, going through appeal after appeal. Researchers have found homicides increase in areas where the death penalty is used. Looking at the FBI’s Uniform Crime report for 2002, “the murder rate in the South increased by .1%, while the murder rate in the Northeast decreased by almost 5%. The south accounts for 82% of all executions since 1976; the Northeast accounts for less than 1%” (“FBI Report”, 2003). These statistics clearly show that using the death penalty for deterrence s not working. Instead of deterring criminals, the death penalty shows those with a propensity toward violence that society thinks murder is okay.
As far as retribution goes, the death penalty certainly does accomplish this for the people who feel revenge is the only answer to a crime. Putting someone to death, however, only serves to bring society down to the level of the offender. Vengeance is not going to heal the surviving family members and friends. The execution may give survivors a temporary relief from their pain and anger, but the real relief comes with time, and, if possible, forgiveness. Supporters of the death penalty feel executions are necessary even at the cost of possibly executing an innocent person. “A recent Scripps Howard Texas Poll found 76 percent of Texas said they support the death penalty. Sixty-nine percent of the poll respondents also said they believe the state has executed innocent people” (Kimberly, 2003). It is going too far when a society is willing to execute innocent people for the sake of getting revenge. A better way of getting retribution for the victims and victim’s families of these criminal might be to set up a pay back system where the criminal spends his life in jail, working, and giving all wages to the family of his victims.
The costs of the death penalty exceed the cost of life in prison.
A study by Indiana’s Criminal Law Study Commission found the increased cost to be 38% higher for the death penalty than for sentencing an offender to life in prison. “On a national basis, these figures translate to an extra cost of over $1 billion spent since 1976 on the death penalty” (“Financial Facts,” 2003). This is too high a cost for our society to bear. This money could be better spent on other programs such as rehabilitation and education for criminals.
The death penalty is carried out unjustly many times. A convicted murderer can get life in prison at the same time another convicted murderer is being sentenced to death for committing the same crime. The race of the offender, as well as that of the victim, plays a large role in whether or not the death penalty will be sought. “Prof. Jack Boger and Dr. Isaac Unah of the University of North Carolina found that defendants whose victims are white are 3.5 times more likely to be sentenced to death than those with non-white victims” (“Race and the death penalty,” 2003). For the death penalty to even come close to being a viable option for punishing offender’s race cannot play any part whatsoever. The death penalty must also be sentenced more consistently if it is to be fair.
While the death penalty has not been deemed cruel and unusual punishment in the United States as of yet, the country must get to where we see this punishment as simply too harsh. Most developed countries have either abolished or do not practice the death penalty. The United States needs to follow the lead of these countries. Many of the reasons supporters of the death penalty use are not convincing enough to make the cons of capital punishment worth it. The criminal justice system in America is flawed; too many things can go wrong in a trial, resulting in an unfair conviction and inappropriate sentence.
References:
Curran, D., & Renzetti, C. (2001). Theories of Crime. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
FBI report reveals murder rate rise in the south. (2003). Retrieved September 8, 2003, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=12&did=167
Financial facts about the death penalty. (2003). Retrieved September 10, 2003, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=108&scid=7
Fuoco, M. A. (2003, August 3). Sparing the innocent on death row. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, p. C-1.
Kimberly, J. (2003, March 16). Texans show solid support for executions; Most also believe innocent people have been put to death, poll finds. The Houston Chronicle, p. 35.
Race and the death penalty in North Carolina an empirical analysis: 1993-1997 (2003). Retrieved September 10, 2003 from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=105&scid=5
