On why capital punishment should be banished

Essay by POTOLLOMUCKSOTYRHigh School, 11th grade March 2003

download word file, 1 pages 3.6 2 reviews

Death to Capital Punishment act:

The death penalty has, in recent years, been dismissed by many developed nations as a form of punishment. In fact, the United States is the only one of all the western developed nations to still continue this practice. The death penalty is called by some the poor man's penalty. Most rich criminals can get away from this punishment by pouring more money into investigation and getting better lawyers in court. Therefore, those who do get put on death row are usually in the lower class. Comparing the death penalty to imprisonment, many may argue that taxpayers pay more to imprison the criminal than to execute him. Besides the point that a human life is unobtainable with any amount of money, this is not true, the death penalty costs more and takes longer to transact. A trial takes much longer and is often repealed when the death penalty is a possible punishment for the defendant.

Courtroom time and fees for prosecutors, defenders, judges can add up to amount as much or more than the cost of a life imprisonment term. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution protects us from cruel and unusual punishment. Although we've resorted to using lethal injection in most states, there still exist electrocution, hanging, gas chamber and the firing squads. And although lethal injection is said to be less painful than other previously common methods, it is in fact quite painful for the prisoner. Criminals aren't born. They are products of society. The crime rates are the gauge of the depravity of society. Punishing criminals isn't the only way to solve the problem of high crime rates.