Dieter, Richard. "Testimony on the Cost and Inefficiency of Capital Punishment.

" The New York

State Assembly. , New York City. 25 Jan. 2005. Lecture.
Summary: This lecture that was given by Richard Dieter to express his concerns about
the large amount of costs associated with the death penalty, along with his concerns about
wrongfully sentencing innocent people to death. His lecture goes on to talk about the process of
a person being tried before a judge and jury, and how the possibility exists of this person being
wrongfully sentenced and placed on death row.
Reflection: Richard Dieters lecture supports my essay by bringing to light the fact the
possibility exists that innocent people could be sentenced to death for a crime they did not
commit. The factors that would need to take place for this to happen are widespread, but the
possibility of this happening is real. Dieter expresses that if these individuals are sentenced to life
in prison rather than death row, the chances of his or her name being cleared at a later time are
possible.
Freedman, Eric M. "The Case Against the Death Penalty." USA Today (Farmingdale). March
1997: 48-50. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 21 Jul. 2015.
Summary: This article addresses some of the facts that society believes concerning the
death penalty. These facts include how the death penalty does not reduce crime, how the death
penalty is extraordinarily expensive, and how capital punishment will inevitably be inflicted on
the innocent. Eric Freedman gives examples for each of the facts he lists that support his claim.
The article also points out the fact that the death penalty is not only useless, but that it is
absolutely harmful and diverts resources from actual crime control measures.
Reflection: This article helps to support my opinion opposing the death penalty. This
article describes the cost associated with a death penalty sentencing, and sheds light on that fact

that the death penalty is six times more expensive than a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Freedman also explains that the state of California alone could save over $90,000,000 by
resentencing all of its death row inmates to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The
cost of the death penalty is massive and clearly not the most cost-efficient option.
McCartin, Donald. "Second Thoughts of a 'Hanging Judge'" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles
Times, 25 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 July 2015.
Summary: This article is a reflection that former governor of California, Jerry Brown, has
on the death penalty. Jerry Brown was appointed to a judgeship in the Superior Court of Orange
County, where he made the decisions of who should be put to death for crimes that men and
women committed. During his time of judgeship from 1978 to 1993, Brown sentenced 10 men
to death for murders they committed. Nine of those men are still in prison today, while one has
passed away behind bars from natural causes. Brown states that he feels it to be a charade of the
legal system to keep these men who he himself sentenced to death alive behind bars. Brown also
states that this legal process is a disservice to the families of the victims that he says he once
promised closure to.
Reflection: This article brings a different point of view to my opinion of the death
penalty. Jerry Brown was once a man who decided which criminals were to live or die. His
view point of the death penalty has change after years of being removed from this position of
power as he makes remarks that of 10 men he sentenced to death, none of those sentencing have
been carried out. Brown describes watching the mother of a victim continually having to relive
the accounts of her daughter's murder over years and years of trials and appeals of her daughter's
killer.

Muhlhausen, David B. "Studies Confirm: Death Penalties Deter Many Murders at Far Less
Cost." McClatchy - Tribune News Service. 16 Oct. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher.
Web. 21 Jul. 2015.
Summary: This article talks about how many studies show that the cost of the death
penalty can deter individuals from committing a crime. David Muhlhausen describes how the
death penalty does indeed cost money, but that those expenses protect innocent people, hold
criminals accountable, and are legitimate functions of government. In the end of the article
Muhlhausen talks about how placing a monetary value on life is a sensitive matter, but the public
is willing to pay anywhere from 4 to 10 million in costs for each life spared.
Reflection: This article was interesting in the sense that the people who commit crimes
may take into consideration that they may receive the death penalty for their actions before they
act. Most felons act on instinct, and if the crime was premeditated, the punishment is typically
not on the list of reasons not to commit a crime. This helps me in my IEP because it shows that
the cost of the death penalty may not be worth it. Life in prison is less expensive than the death
penalty, and could be more effective.