Death_Penalty

Jessica Dulmaine Professor Matthew Bellico English 101-71 15 February 2010 The Death Penalty Stephen Bright [Human rights attorney] once said "It can be argued that rapists deserve to be raped, that mutilators deserve to be mutilated. Most societies, however, refrain from responding in this way because the punishment is not only degrading to those on whom it is imposed, but it is also degrading to the society that engages in the same behavior as the criminals." There are many states that do not support the death penalty, and the average number of murders are significantly less in the states that do not support the death penalty than in the states that do support it. The cost of keeping an inmate in prison for life is also less then an execution. The death penalty denies people their natural right to life, and unlike any other punishments, the death penalty has an inherent danger because it is final and irreversible. The death penalty does not deter criminals from committing even the most heinous crimes. Numerous studies done by Amnesty International USA [Action for Human Rights] have failed to link the death penalty with a lower homicide rate. Studies (thedeathpenaltyinfo.org) has shown an increase of stranger killings and homicide rates. The states that have the death penalty have an overall higher murder rate than the states that do not support it. In the year 2007, there was a 42% difference between the average murder rates. The states that have the death penalty averages about a 5.83 murder rate (thedeathpenaltyinfo.org deterrence), where as, the states that do not support the death penalty have a rate of 4.10%. Also the cost of the death penalty is causing a serious economic consequences. A few state governments estimate that the death penalty for one criminal, from the time they get arrested until the actual execution, ranges from $1 million to $3 million per criminal case. (Amnesty International USA) The millions of dollars spent on capital punishment cuts into resources for communities, such as schools, hospitals, public safety, and state jobs. New York brought back the death penalty in 1995, even though the Department of Corrections estimated that it will cost a bit over $2 million per criminal case and approximately $118 million annually. That same year, state leaders complained of a budge shortfall and made dramatic cut in funding for the public higher education and health care. In another instance, New Jersey spent $16 million to impose the death penalty that first year. The very next year, New Jersey laid off about 500 police officers because they could not afford to pay them. The death penalty should be abolished because it has a heightened risk or error. The risks of inaccurate judgment have been elevated because the death penalty has become a politicized issue that is commonly used in campaigns for judges and district attorneys who are elected to their positions. Also, due to the high emotions surrounding a murder case, there is great pressure on law enforcement officials to solve homicide quickly. Such pressure may actually lead to misconduct by the investigators or prosecutors. In addition, murders frequently lack eyewitnesses, forcing the prosecutors to use less reliable sources for evidence. Because of these high risks there have been recent cases of mistaken execution or conviction. Leo Jones was convicted of murdering a police officer in Jacksonville, Florida on March 28, 1998.(Mistakes thedeathpenaltyinfo.org) Jones signed a confession after hour of interrogation, but he later claimed the confession was coerced. In the mid-1980s, the policeman who arrested Jones and the detective who took his confession were forced out of uniform for a many ethical violations. The policeman was later identified by a fellow officer as an "enforcer" who had used torture. Furthermore, Texas executed Jesse Jacobs on January 4, 1995 despite the prosecution’s admission that arguments they made at Jacobs’ trial were false. Jacobs was convicted after the state introduced evidence that he, rather than his co-defendant, pulled the trigger on the day of the murder. At the following trial of the co-defendant, the state reversed its story and said it was the co-defendant, not Jacobs, who pulled the trigger. The prosecution vouched for the credibility of Jacobs' testimony that he did not commit the shooting and did not even know that his co-defendant had a gun. Jacobs’ co-defendant was also convicted, but not sentenced to death. The death penalty should not be allowed in this country. We have the resources to keep the public safe from criminals, so it is unnecessary to have a inhuman and degrading punishment. The death penalty does not deter criminals from committing heinous crimes. Since it wastes money and destroys our economy, and that there also might be some reasonable doubt to someone's guilt the death penalty should be abolished from the United States.