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Taylor Cogswell
Mr. Gross
English 12 B (3)
25 June 2015
Death Penalty
One warm July evening, fifteen week old Evelyene was at home with her father within
the dirty walls of a trailer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Steven Deuman Jr. was taking care of his
baby daughter while her mother was away at work. Later that day Evelyene was found dead on
the floor of the trailer in a small thick pool of blood and a condom lodged in her throat. Deuman
was charged with the murder and aggravated sexual abuse of his three and a half month old
daughter and now is serving a life sentence in prison. A pure evil act inflicted on a pure and
helpless being is punished with one life sentence spent in jail. A lifetime where Deuman can still
take art classes, have employment opportunities, watch movies, play cards and socialize with
other inmates with no cost to him whatsoever. Steven Deuman does not deserve to live after what
he did to his young and defenseless daughter. With all of the sadistic crimes that are committed
on a day to day basis in the United States, many of the offenders who commit these vicious
felonies spend a life sentence living for free at taxpayers expense. The death penalty in the
United States needs to legalized in every state and be enforced. American taxes are paying for
the cost of living for murderers, rapists, and other offenders who commit heinous crimes. In
addition to being less costly than paying for inmates to spend life in prison the death penalty is
also prevents the overcrowding of prisons. By legalizing and enforcing the death penalty in all
fifty United States states less money would be spent on inmates and prisons would not be
overflowing.

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The epidemic of incarceration costs the United States and its taxpayers up to $63.4 billion
dollars per year (Cost of the Death Penalty 1). The cost of the keeping an inmate incarcerated for
one year is on average approximately $49,380 (Whats New 1). This means that on average every
year taxpayers will pay fifty thousand dollars to provide for a single inmate to remain in prison
and a total of sixty-three billion dollars to the prison system. A full life sentence for a single
inmate would cost about $1,250,000. A life sentence in prison is defined as a minimum of fifteen
years served up to twenty-five years (What Is a Life Sentence? 1). Contrary to many beliefs
when one receives a life sentence they can be released in fifteen to twenty-five years. This means
that a twenty year old that raped a girl could be out at the age of thirty-five and is quite capable
of committing that same exact crime after being released. Studies have shown that many people
who are released from prison will reoffend, this is known as recidivism. The rate of recidivism of
inmates released from prison is eight out of ten (Cris Barrish 1). Eight out of ten people that are
released from prison will reoffend, go through the legal system and be placed in prison once
again. A way to combat these criminals having the opportunity to reoffend and to save american
tax dollars would be to enact the death penalty on those who commit capital offenses. The cost of
the chemical concoction that makes up one lethal injection is approximately $200 (Costs of the
Death Penalty 1). This is far cheaper than the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on keeping
an inmate in prison for a life sentence. The death penalty is a less costly alternative to life in
prison. Lethal injection would also counter the cost of parole, probation and any trials of those
who are released from life sentences that may reoffend.
Todays prisons are filled and sometimes overflowing with inmates. The United States
has one of the highest incarceration rates. The United States has about 4.4 percent of the worlds
total population but 22 percent of the total inmates (United States Tops the List of Incarcerations

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per Capita 1). As a result of the high incarceration rates, the United States has far more prisons
and many of which are overflowing with more inmates than maximum capacity. At the end of
2013, an Illinois prison was housing 48,653 inmates when its capacity is only 32,075 (Prisons in
These 17 States Are over Capacity 1). Many prisons throughout the country are housing inmates
far above the maximum level of capacity capable similar to the prison in Illinois. A solution that
prisons have found to the problem of overcrowding is a release of inmates. California has the
largest prison system in the United States with the highest level of overcrowding, a federal court
ruled for the release of 36,000 to 46,000 inmates (Mears 1). This entails the release of criminals
into the American society. People who have not yet paid retribution for the criminal acts that
were committed are being released into society to possibly reoffend and harm others. Instead of
enforcing and using the death penalty for gruesome capital offenses to prevent this overcrowding
the United States government orders the release of thousands of convicted criminals all over the
country. The release of these criminals endangers the safety of law abiding residents in the
United States instead of releasing criminals the government should seek out just punishment for
those who are sitting on death row or serving a single or multiple life sentences in prison. If the
death penalty was enforced many people would be deterred from committing the crimes that
place citizens in prison in the first place. By using the death penalty as punishment the United
States government would have a lower prison population and could begin to combat the problem
of overcrowding.
Some may say that the death penalty falls under cruel and unusual punishment which is
protected by the eighth amendment. The death penalty is a fair way to carry out punishment for
beyond heinous crimes committed by despicable human beings. A person who rapes and murders
multiple young woman should not be allowed to live at taxpayers expense for life never having

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to pay a dime to live in a place where there is health care, education options, career study and
three hot meals a day. The most argued point against the death penalty is that wrongful execution
can never be rectified because the United States legal system is not perfect and sometimes the
wrong man or woman is put away. The death penalty is not applied in every case. In cases where
there is extreme violence, repeat offense of rape or abuse or other capital crimes is when the
death penalty is sought out (Death Penalty Focus: Facts 1). Inmates who are placed on death row
have the opportunity to appeal the conviction if the guilt has been misplaced. The death penalty
is taken quite seriously as a punishment and is not handed out in cases when evidence is only
substantial and not solid enough for a closed conviction. Solid evidence includes DNA,
fingerprints, records of conspiracy to commit a crime and a clear, defined motive or a confession
of guilt by the accused (Soft versus Hard Evidence; Appeal to Authority Etc. 1) In cases where
evidence is only circumstantial and the defendant cannot be nailed to the cases the death penalty
is not pursued due to the possibility of innocence. The death penalty is only recommended in
cases where the defendant is tied to the case with solid evidence or have admitted being guilty in
the crime committed. There are precautions taken when sentencing a criminal. The United States
and the legal system are aware of the very permanent effects of the death penalty, because of this
the death penalty is reserved for capital crimes with substantial evidence and a solid conviction.
The death penalty is the only way that justice can be delivered to the criminals who
commit heinous and malicious crimes. The only way to ensure that justice is delivered to the
victims of these crimes is to legalize and pursue the death penalty in capital offenses. The
legalization and enactment of death penalty has many benefits for the United States. With the
death penalty enacted there would be less people serving life in prison and help begin to combat
the problem of overcrowded prisons in the United States. The cost for a singular lethal injection

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is far less costly than the cost of a life sentence in prison, the death penalty could save taxpayers
billions of dollars over the course of a few years. The death penalty has been a fair punishment
for hundreds of years in many different countries but recently the United States judiciary system
has strayed away from enforcing it. In some cases ruling capital punishment be carried out is the
only way that justice can be served for the crime that has been committed. Capital punishment is
the only just form of punishment for capital crimes.

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Works Cited
"Costs of the Death Penalty." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
Cris Barrish, The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal. "Study: 8 in 10 Released Inmates Return to
Del. Prisons." USA Today. Gannett, 31 July 2013. Web. 26 May 2015.
"Death Penalty Focus : Facts." Death Penalty Focus : Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
Mears, Bill. "High Court Orders Drastic Prison Population Reduction in California." CNN. Cable
News Network, 24 May 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
"Prisons in These 17 States Are over Capacity." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d.
Web. 1 Nov. 2014."Soft versus Hard Evidence; Appeal to Authority Etc." Soft versus Hard
Evidence; Appeal to Authority Etc. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
"The Cost of a Nation of Incarceration." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
"United States Tops the List of Incarcerations per Capita. |." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
"What Is a Life Sentence?" Study.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015.
"What's New." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.