Effects of the Death Penalty

Essay by EllechimCollege, UndergraduateA, January 2009

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The death penalty is an issue that will continue to be debated for many years to come. It raises many moral issues. Some believe the death penalty should be abolished while others believe the death penalty should remain an option. The many excellent reasons for the death penalty more than out weight any opposing reason. The current conditions for capitol punishment may not be perfect. There are things I would change dealing with the death penalty, but I do not think it warrants being completely abolished. Consequently, the death penalty should be administered to those who commit heinous crimes.

Murder is a crime that no one can ever make right. Once you take a life away you can never give it back. The death penalty is not given carelessly. The death penalty is not given lightly. Penalties for criminals are made to fit the crimes committed. The worst crime possible should therefore receive the worst penalty possible.

That penalty is the death penalty. Take, for example, the case of a man who is caught shoplifting. He does not deserve the same punishment as someone who is convicted of assault and battery. Most people would have no problem agreeing with this. Yet, many of these same people believe that a brutal killer deserves the same life sentence as a convicted kidnapper who did not kill his prisoner. Granted these are both serious offenses, but our system of law works by degrees of seriousness.

In another aspect, critics of capital punishment argue that the expense involving executions is substantially greater than the cost of life imprisonment. The extra financial burden of capital punishment is primarily due to redundant appeals, time-consuming delays, bizarre court rulings and legal drama by defense attorneys. The fact is by killing prisoners we save years or even decades...