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More to the Death Penalty

Ciera Nordin
Salt Lake Community College








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Abstract
The death penalty was looked at from multiple perspectives. Finding both the pros and cons
related with each topic. What things we can do to deter people from becoming future murders
and considering if the death penalty has any effect on that. Is it fair to display retribution? Maybe
we could be punishing an innocent person that does not deserve the consequence. Geographical
regions do play a part in whether or not the death penalty is applied. Cost is far greater to
implement the death penalty than to be sentenced to life in prison. Amendment Eight protects
individuals from cruel and unusual punishment but not the death penalty.
Keywords: death penalty, deterrence, retribution, innocence, arbitrariness, discrimination,
cost, Amendment Eight









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More To The Death Penalty
Is the death penalty something that we should continue to have or should we not have it
like the 18 States in the US without it? There have been 1,369 death penalty executions since
1976, with 56% of the defendants
executed being white, 34% black,
8% Hispanic and 2% other races.
The most common method of
execution is lethal injection.
However there are backup
methods such as electrocution,
gas chambers, hanging and firing squad that have also been used. The death penalty is a very
controversial topic for many people today. A lot of different things come into play when decided
your take on it. Things such as religious beliefs, personal experiences and feelings all have an
effect on our stance of the situation. The media also plays a huge role in the knowledge that we
receive about the topic. But what if we look at it a little deeper than our own beliefs or what we
see on the surface. Lets take a look at six topics that are important to take into account with the
death penalty.
1. Deterrence
2. Retribution
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3. Innocence
4. Arbitrariness and discrimination
5. Cost
6. Eight Amendment Rights
Understanding the effects the death penalty has on these topics will make you more
knowledgeable about the subject and may sway your thoughts. Educating yourself is the first
thing you need to do before taking a stance for or against it.
Deterrence
I do not feel that the death penalty prevents future murders and neither do the 88% of the
top academic criminological experts that reject the notion that the death penalty acts as a
deterrent to murder ("Facts about the," 2014). If someone has the mindset that they are going to
kill someone, I think the last thought in their mind is whats going to happen to them afterwards.
If they were being rational and thinking about that sort of thing, I think it would stop many of
them from the committing the crime in the first place. However, I do think the death penalty does
prevent repeat murders.
But why do we have to wait for it to get to that extreme? Why dont we put things into
play to stop people from getting to that place? We need to establish things before it gets to the
criminal level. We shouldnt wait until they have become a murder to deter them from it. Not
allowing young children to play video games where it is okay or normal to kill people in the
game. After doing something over and over again the games may become their reality. Keeping
children out of unhealthy environments where they are around violence. Getting kids more
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involved in sports and activities that they enjoy and make a difference in their lives. As for the
death penalty preventing future murders,

Retribution
If we stood more for retribution it makes you wonder the affects it would have on
criminals. If criminals knew before they even considered killing someone, that if they get caught
for committing this crime, that same crime would be done to them maybe they would think
twice. Sure, serving time isnt the most desirable thing, but its certainly not the worst either. If
you think about it, its pretty ridiculous that we provide shelter, food, education and friendship
for someone that has taken all of that from another human. That sounds like a pretty good deal if
you ask me. We could say the death penalty is being fair. That they dont deserve to live and
they have to have the same consequence that they forced on another. Or we could view it as,
society as a whole being drug down to the same level as the criminal. Like Gandhi said An eye
for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. We would be the ones allowing the
same thing we are against so strongly to happen again and again. Maybe they would be more
deserving of it than the victim, but the act is still just as awful.
Innocence
Do people ever wonder how many innocent people are convicted of a crime they may
have not committed? After someone is convicted should we have the faith that the right decision
is made? Someones live is Thats something to take into account when talking about the death
penalty. Someones life is a big deal to gamble with. Since 1973, over 140 people have been
released from death row with evidence of their innocence ("Facts about the," 2014). Its horrible to
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think that 140 innocent people could have potentially been executed when they didnt deserve it.
The death penalty is irreversible, and something you do not want to make a mistake about. It is
crucial to be sure that no innocent person is executed. The only way to get rid of the risk with
one hundred percent certainty is to eliminate the death penalty completely.
Arbitrariness & Discrimination
Unfortunately the death penalty is not necessarily applied to the worst of the worst
offenders. The quality of the defense attorney, location or the trial and the race of the defendant
all have an effect on the decision being made. Approximately two percent of those convicted of
crime that make them eligible for the death penalty actually receive a death sentence ("Death
penalty and," ). Thats not fair and means we are not using the same system for all murder
convicts. If were only applying the death penalty to people in one group rather than every group
that is discrimination. Its like only giving speeding tickets to a certain color car and letting all
the other cars get away without a ticket ("Arbitrariness," 2013). There is too much gray area where
its left up to individuals instead of the law. If it were more cut and dry, I believe it would be
more unbiased. Often jurors have made up their mind of what the penalty should be before the
sentencing trail has even taken place. Thats means these people are not even getting listened to.
Their point of view is sometimes not even being considered. The defendant may be in front of a
judge that is more likely to sentence the death penalty than another, so that does vary from trial
to trial and judge to judge. And if were looking at geographic side of things, the South seems to
be more for the
death penalty. In
1976, 82% of all
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executions took place in the South. Now that just shows that geographic do tend to play a part
("Death penalty and," ).
Cost
What is the cost of the death penalty versus the cost of the life in prison? Some might say
the death penalty is better because we will save money not having to pay for incarceration
expenses, but is that true? The answer is no. Most people when thinking about cost would think
about the actual execution and the cost of that. But they dont take into consideration the process
it takes to get to that point. The process that the Constitution requires to apply the death penalty
is a long and complex judicial process. This means more and more money. The process is needed
in order to ensure that innocent people are not executed for a crime they did not commit. The
average cost of defending a trail in a
federal death case is $620,932 which is
about 8 times the amount of a federal
murder case in which the death penalty
is not sought ("The high cost," 1988). The
death penalty also reduces the resources
available for crime prevention, mental
health treatment, education and
rehabilitation.
Eighth Amendment Rights
The Eighth amendment protects us from cruel and unusual punishments. Some might say that the
death penalty is unconstitutional. We dont have a cruel meter where we can track when a
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punishment has crossed the line from being okay to becoming cruel. Our opinions vary from
person to person and we all have our own interpretation of what cruel and unusual punishment is.
If you think about it lethal injection is not the cruelest way we could execute someone. We are
not torturing them, so it doesnt seem to be too cruel to do to someone that purposely killed
another person. However there will never be a right or wrong answer. We are individual and all
entitled to our own opinion.
Conclusion
In conclusion the death penalty has is positives as well as it negatives. Being such a
controversial issue what is viewed as positive and what is viewed as negative can vary from
person to person. However, stats and facts cannot be ignored. Since the death penalty has been in
place it has not prevented future murder. Retribution is not a good thing. Its simply using evil to
discipline the evil. Theres always a chance of executing an innocent person as long as the death
penalty is in place. Discrimination plays a part in trials all over and for many different reasons
that people dont think about. Costs goes beyond the execution, it takes a lot of money to even
get to that point. More than it cost to sentence someone for life in prison. And lastly, as far as our
Constitution is concerned, the death penalty not a cruel punishment.





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References
Arbitrariness. (2013, May 3). Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/arbitrariness
Death penalty and arbitrariness. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-
work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-and-arbitrariness
Facts about the death penalty. (2014, March 3). Retrieved from
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf
The high cost of the death penalty. (1988). Retrieved from
http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=42