Capital Punishment
Capital punishment has remained a contentious issue in the United States since its inception because some believe that it is necessary as a crime deterrence method. In contrast, others believe that human beings do not have the authority to take another person’s life as a form of punishment. Our stance on capital punishment cannot solely be determined by our moral compass but must be interlined with scientific research and facts. Other factors that should be considered while making such decisions include social and economic factors. We must also analyze the application of capital punishment in the criminal justice system and its economic impact. The aim is to provide concrete statistical data on factors considered when handling a capital punishment penalty to support that the practice of capital punishment in the US should be abolished.
The death penalty should be abolished in the united states because of its irreversible nature. Unlike other crimes where people have a second chance just in case they appeal the case based on new evidence, once the punishment is served in the death penalty, it remains irreversible. Increased research evidence on capital punishment in the united states indicates that each year, innocent people are executed on the basis of capital punishment because of unfairness mostly linked to status and racial biasness. Cameron Todd Willingham, a Texas resident, executed in 2004 under the claims that he had set fire on his house, killing his three daughters. Further evidence after the punishment was served indicated the Willingham did not set the fire that caused death to the three girls. The evidence came in too late and could not help Willingham because he was already dead. Thus, absolute judgments are likely to have people pay for crimes they never committed.
The death penalty does not deter crime. No study outrightly proves that capital punishment deters crimes effectively than a prison term. Sufficient research indicates that about 88% of the death penalty punishments are on people accused of homicide. However, a 2012 research review on capital punishment as a deterrent of murder by the American National Academy of Sciences National Review Council concluded that there is no sufficient evidence that capital punishment on murders decreases, increases, or has no effect on homicide (National Research Council 97). The study was passed on research done over 34 years (National Research Council 1). In Canada, it has been reported that there has been a decline in the murder rates since the abolishment of capital punishment in 1976, with 2016 having the lowest cases of murder since 1966.
Capital punishment cases are lengthy and costly. In the past, there are arguments such as incarceration is expensive than capital punishment. However, the reverse is true with sufficient data showing that capital punishment is costly than imprisonment. A murder case is likely to take a longer time when a death penalty is an option at hand than when capital punishment is not considered. The time taken by murders cases with capital punishment at hand leads to increased litigation costs borne by the taxpayers. Some of the taxpayers’ litigation costs include public defenders, prosecutors, judges, court briefs, and court reporters. In addition, there are costs from the extra security added in courts and the separate death row housing borne by taxpayers. A study carried out in New York in 1982 indicated that for a death penalty to be reintroduced in the state, the trial alone would take more taxpayers money than double the cost of life imprisonment.
There are unfairness and discrimination in the application of the capital penalty in the united states. It has been proven that there are racial, gender, and economic status based discrimination in cases involving capital punishment. By 20th August, in 1982, there were 1058 prisoners on death row in the US, 42% of who were black, whereas the black population only made 12 percent of the country’s population. Those on the death penalty also tend to be economically constrained, which leads to inadequate legal representation and are poorly educated. In different studies, it has been indicated that discrimination is applied in the death penalty because the lives of some victims are more worth than others. For example, a study in Florida indicated that a black person was 40 times more likely to serve a death penalty when accused of killing a white person when the victim is black.
Capital punishment should be abolished to avoid the execution of innocent people. National statistics indicate that from 1973 to 2012, an estimated population of 156 people on death row in 26 states had been released on an innocent basis. It is an indication that innocent people are often sentenced to death, given that the data was from half of the States.
Capital punishment is morally wrong, and there is no humane way of executing a lawbreaker. No one has the right to take life, making capital punishment ethically wrong and unconstitutional (Banner, and Banner 264). The international laws do not take a clear stance on capital punishment, but it categorically stands against people’s inhumane treatment under the Convention against Torture. Countries like the US boast of human execution while referring to lethal injections. However, it has been shown that even lethal injections can go wrong. For example, a US research carried on execution done between 1890 and 2010 indicated that 3% of the executions were botched. Meaning the execution process was not well executed, and it can be painful to the victim and horrific to those watching.
The death penalty has remained a contentious issue in the United States because of how it has been used by the American justice system. A 2012 scientific research by the American National Academy of Sciences National Review Council indicated that there are so many factors to consider while the death penalty is an option in a case such as the effectiveness of the punishment, impact of the penalty, social and economic factors. Sufficient evidence indicates that the unfair application of justice in the death penalty on the basis of gender, race, and economic status. The death penalty is irreversible once implemented. There lack scientific data that support capital punishment as an effective way of deterring crime. Capital punishment cases are costly, thus taking more of taxpayers’ money that life imprisonment. There is no humane way of executing wrongdoers in society.
Works Cited
Bright, Stephen B. “Rigged: When Race and Poverty Determine Outcomes in the Criminal Courts.” Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 14 (2016): 263- 267
Bright, Stephen B. “Race, Poverty, the Death Penalty, and the Responsibility of the Legal Profession.” Seattle J. Soc. Just. 1 (2002): 73-81. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1263&context=sjsj
National Research Council. Deterrence and the death penalty. National Academies Press, 2012.
Banner, Stuart, and Stuart Banner. The death penalty: An American history. Harvard University Press, 2009.