Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 1

Mariah Petersen
Cydney Sheffield
Robyn Snyder
Mrs. Wolverton
English 1010
January 8, 2015
An Evaluation of the Morals and Ethics of the Death Penalty
Capital punishment is wrong for various reasons including: the expense, legality
issues, racial and economic discrimination, moral and religious issues, errors in
prosecution, and immoral methods of execution. We propose that a lifetime term,
without parole, in a State or Federal penitentiary could offer a suitable and substantial
alternative to this dilemma.
Regarding the legality issues, often those who have been charged with a crime
large enough to be confronted with the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney
so the state is obligated to appoint two public defenders and cover the cost of trial.
Capital cases are far more complex than non-capital cases. Professionals are essential
to find forensic evidence, mental health and the social past of the convict. Jury selection
in capital cases is more costly and time consuming. Most death rows involve solitary
incarceration in an exclusive facility that requires more security and other
accommodations. To minimize mistakes, every inmate is designated to a series of
appeals. The costs are at the taxpayers' expense. Death penalty trials typically last over
four times longer, requiring juror and counsel compensation; in addition to court

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 2

personnel and other related costs informs Dieter, Richard C. in Costs of the Death
Penalty and Related Issues.
According to a study by the Kansas Judicial Council, on
deathpenaltyinfo.org, defending capital punishment cases costs about four times as
much as defending a trial where the death penalty is not sought. Examining 34 different
death penalty cases from 2004-2011, the study found that the average defense costs
for death penalty trials was $395,762 per case, compared to $98,963 per case when the
death penalty was not sought. The costs acquired by the trial court showed a similar
trend of $72,530 for death penalty cases, and $21,554 for those without. Even in death
penalty cases that resulted in a guilty plea and did not go to trial were about twice the
costs for both defense and courts. Death cases also take a lot longer. Jury trials
averaged 40.13 days in cases pertaining to the death penalty, but only 16.79 days when
it wasnt an option and estimated they spent 20 times more hours on death penalty
appeals than on non-death appeals. Housing for prisoners on death row costs about
twice as much per year as for prisoners in the general population, according to the
Department of Corrections. Ultimately, It was discovered that, if the Governor
commuted the sentences of those remaining on death row to life without parole, it would
result in an immediate savings of $170 million per year, with a savings of $5 billion over
the next 20 years. Many other states judicial councils uncovered similar results leading
to the conclusion that the death penalty, with everything included, is much more
expensive than a sentence to life in prison.

The 1960s challenged the legality of the death penalty. Before then, the Fifth,
Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty.

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 3

In 1958, the Supreme Court had decided in the Trop v. Dulles case, that the Eighth
Amendment contained an "evolving standard of decency that marked the progress of a
maturing society." Although Trop was not a death penalty case, it was thought that the
United States had, in fact, progressed to a point that its "standard of decency" should no
longer tolerate the death penalty.

The death penalty suggests that some perpetrators of capital offenses lives
are worth more than others based off of their racial and economic status. Those who
receive the death penalty still tend to be poor, poorly educated and represented by
public defenders or court-appointed lawyers. Jeffery and Colleen Johnson in their
argument about the economic equality in prosecution state, Our argument is not that
we should somehow pity the vicious first degree murderer because of his economic
misfortune, or in any way excuse or mitigate the moral and legal gravity of his offense,
but rather that the most severe and solemn form of criminal punishment must be
administered in a more economically evenhanded way in order for any of us to take
comfort in believing that justice was served by the murderer's death at the hands of the
state.

A study published in Crime & Delinquency (October 1980) concluded that a

defendant was several times more likely to be sentenced to death if the murder victim
was white. Studies have shown that the single most reliable predictor of when someone
will be sentenced to death is the race of the victim. By August 20, 1982, there were
1,058 prisoners on death row and 42 percent were African-American. Only about 12
percent of the United States population is African-American. A report sponsored by the

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 4

American Bar Association in 2007 found that one-third of African-American death row
inmates in Philadelphia would have received sentences of life imprisonment if they had
not been African-American. Senator Russ Feingold on Civil Rights stated in 2003 "We
simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when
racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate
punishment."
The death penalty also raises the question of whether it is morally and
ethically wrong. It is a popular thought that murder is wrong. The majority of the
population would tell you that without second-guessing it. Premeditated murder is a
crime, and so should execution. Humans dont have the right to kill other humans. It
could be said that the question is not if prisoners should be killed but if anyone should
kill. Human life is of great worth. Capital Punishment lowers the value of human life as
seen by the general population and brutalizes society. It is based off a need for
revenge. It dehumanizes society as a whole and compromises our belief and value
system. It completely violates our belief that a person can change. No one has the
right to murder and question that worth. When the government declares a prisoner so
dehumanized through murder, how is it that the response would be to do the same?
If its not a moral issue, what are the religious reasons to oppose death penalty?
Before the 10 commandments there was the Law of Moses. An eye for an eye was the
general consensus back then so it would be perfectly acceptable if you took a life to be
killed in return but, that no longer applies to us because we have matured as a society
since then. Those who are religious can tell you that it is made simple through the Ten
Commandments found in the Bible, Thou shalt not kill. On the other hand The Bible

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 5

requires the death penalty for a wide variety of crimes, including practicing evil sorcery,
adultery, some form of homosexual behavior, doing work on Saturday, women (but not
men) for having sexual relations before marriage, being missionaries for religions other
than the state approved religion etc.
With the exception of those who believe that we should continue living like those
in the past people feel that the death penalty no longer applies to society. The reasons
that the death penalty was used in biblical times no longer applies to society and should
not be used in arguments in favor of keeping capital punishment in todays justice
system. In the Bible it teaches of the first murderer, Cain, and how he was not killed
but exiled as a consequence. Never has capital punishment been morally correct or
advertised through religion.
Since 1973 150 people have been proven innocent and released from death row.
There is no way to tell how many of the over 1,000 people executed since 1976 may
also have been innocent. Courts do not generally entertain claims of innocence when
the defendant is dead. After the defendant dies for the crime they committed the court
simply does not care. No one really does. A Chicago Tribune investigation released in
2006 revealed groundbreaking evidence that Texas most likely executed an innocent
man in 1989. The defendant, Carlos DeLuna, was executed for the death of a store
clerk Wanda Lopez in 1983. New evidence uncovered by reporters cast doubt on
DeLunas guilt and points towards another man, Carlos Hernandez. This is the fourth
investigation in the past two years pointing to the execution of a probably innocent man.
There is no way to tell how many cases such as this exist. Although Utah hasnt
had any cases (that we know of) where an innocent man was executed, the fact is that

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 6

there are times where the justice system has failed. A flaw in a court case where an
innocent person is sent to death row is the death of an innocent man. Death is absolute
and final and there is no coming back from that. Courts dont want to waste their time
by digging up old cases where the person is already dead. If the prisoner is kept in
prison for the rest of his life then at least there is a chance where repeal can be heard
and an innocent man can be liberated.
There are multiple factors which lead to a wrongful conviction, which arent at all
uncommon. These factors include; inadequate legal representation, police and
prosecutorial misconduct, perjured testimony and mistaken eyewitness testimonies,
racial prejudice, jailhouse snitch testimony, suppression and/or misinterpretation of
mitigating evidence, and community/political pressure to solve a case. Governor George
Ryan of Illinois states, I cannot support a system which, in its administration, has
proven so fraught with error and has come so close to the ultimate nightmare, the
states taking of innocent lifeUntil I can be sure that everyone sentenced to death in
Illinois is truly guilty, until I can be sure with moral certainty that no innocent man or
woman is facing a lethal injection, no one will meet that fate in January of 2000, in
declaring a moratorium on executions in his state, after the 13th Illinois death row inmate
had been released from prison due to wrongful conviction.
There are 5 ways the death penalty is administered. The most used is lethal
injection. A recent article in Time Magazine by Editor-at-large David Von Drehle
examines the current state of the death penalty in the United States at a time when the
Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the most widely used method of
execution--lethal injection. Von Drehle writes, In a perfect world, perhaps, the

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 7

government wouldn't wait 30 years and several hundred executions to determine
whether an execution method makes sense. But the world of capital punishment has
never been that sort of place. This weighty moral issue, expressive of some of our
society's deeply held values, involves a lot of winging it. Von Drehle says that the
death penalty debate often comes down to the question of whether to "fix it or end it."
But that debate, he says, misses the reality. "One government budget contains millions
of dollars for prosecutions, while another department spends more millions to defend
against them. Indeed, the very essence of ambiguity is our vain search for a bloodless,
odorless, motionless, painless, foolproof mode of killing healthy people." 1,219 people
have been executed using lethal injection since 1976.
Electrocution is legal in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 158 people have died by electrocution since 1976.
Only three states still have the use of the gas chamber as legal. Three states state that
hanging is also a legal way of execution. Only two states use the firing squad as an
option and Utah is one of them. In the state of Utah the only way you can be executed
by firing squad is if you choose that for yourself.
We issued a survey to customers leaving and going to the Kohls department
store on 12300 South in Draper, Utah. We were surprised by the responses from
people. Many people were irritated by our asking them to fill out a survey and rejected
our inquiry. The people who agreed looked at the topic at the top of the page and had
surprised looks on their faces. Capital punishment isnt really talked about these
days. No one has been executed in Utah in about 13 years so you could say its not
exactly a pressing issue. Approximately 30 out of 50 people said that they did not agree

Petersen, Sheffield, Snyder 8

with the death penalty, which was surprising to us. Since so many people disagree with
it, why is it still enforced?
In conclusion, people need to take action against the death penalty. Say no to
the death penalty. No matter how despicable murderers can be, the state can make
sure were safe by locking them up behind bars for the rest of theirand ourlives.
Thats not only a cheaper answer than state-sanctioned murder; its a more moral one,
too. We have expressed all our arguments for abolishing capital punishment: expense,
legality issues, racial and economic discrimination, moral and religious issues, errors in
prosecution, and immoral methods of execution. Now we need to act on what we know
to be right. We need to bring up this issue and educate the public about the issue of the
death penalty and put a stop to this unnecessary evil. How can the government expect
to stop society from committing violent crimes when they promote it themselves?