DEATH PENALTY VS LIFE IN PRISON

Should a convict be set free in death rather than pay for his crimes in prison?
Kansas Police Lieutenant Gregory Ruff talks about the ugliness he has seen up close in
crimes, he states that he has never heard a criminal suspect consider death penalty as
a consequence for their crimes. Death Penalty is recorded back in history since 1750
B.C. in the Hammurabi Code; the first execution in America was that of Captain George
Kendall in Virginia 1608. Throughout 19th and 20th century many states have abolished
the death penalty law, today 37 states like; Texas, Virginia, Missouri, the Federal
Government and the U.S. Military have death penalty and only 13 states and the District
of Colombia have abolished their death penalty law. Since 1930 there has been 4,958
executions to date, where many have been executed while being innocent, such as the
recent case of Troy Davis from Georgia who was convicted for the killing of a police
officer in savannah, during trial witnesses changed their statement pointing to another
suspect, even though the case had many doubts he was executed on Sept. 21, 2011.
Death penalty or capital punishment is a legal process whereby a person is put to death
by the state as a punishment for a crime. In fact there are different ways to performing
an execution, nowadays the ones still used are: decapitation, electrocution, gas
chamber, hanging, lethal injection, shooting, stoning and nitrogen asphyxiation. Death
penalty is not only the most premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being but
it is also not effective in stopping crime, it is the ultimate denial of human rights and its
costs are higher than life in prison.
While defenders of capital punishment claim that killing criminals will increase
safety in society, death penalty does not stop crime from happening. Although the main
purpose of death penalty is to decrease the criminal rates survey has showed that those
states that have death penalty have not decreased as expected."In fact, the murder rate
in the US is six times that of Britain and 5 times that of Australia, countries in which
death penalty is not enacted."(AntiDeathPenalty.org).In addition files from 2006 show
that homicide rates in executing states are higher than of those without death
penalty."The murder rate in non-death penalty states has remained consistently lower
than national average than in states with death penalty and the gap differences are up
42% since the 1990s". Most convincingly its valid what pro death penalty people say,
criminals do escape jails but the number of people who escape tend to be common
prisoners and not executed prisoners, so then what should we put in death row every
convict? Furthermore death penalty only promotes death, it gives the message that
when someone does wrong this person must die, what if citizen take into their hands to
do justice, since governments approve the killing of a criminal then what is to deter a
person from killing another one when one has done a crime."Over the past decades the
number of people supporting the death penalty have been declining due to surveys and

case studies in which shows that the death penalty is ineffective because it does not
discourage people to commit crime." Government must come with another plan of
action to deter criminal acts; death penalty does not stop crime from happening and
gives society a wrong message that can even be the cause for criminal acts. I believe
there is more punishment in being in prison for life, than given freedom in death.
By legally taking the life of a person, death penalty becomes the ultimate denial
of human rights, which is to live. Every human being has the right to live, and this life
given by God is to be protected by law and only taken away by God. There is of course
unfortunates accidents where a person dies, which is that of someone killing another
person, pro death penalty claims that if governments has no rights to take a persons life
then a criminal should not be taking one, that the victim was also denied of his/her
human rights."Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be
protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.Article 6.1 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". According to many human rights
activists, the death penalty violates this right." When a crime is committed a person has
taken another ones life and that person violated someones human rights and this
person must pay, but why should he pay by being killed? Yes, death is feared because
it is the unknown but at the same time its freedom because this person cannot suffer life
in prison, this person cannot suffer the disdain of the people and this person cannot
reindivicate himself. That moment when a human thinks that they have the right to take
someone else's life is when human race should stop existing. The only person allowed
to take a life is God, many religions and philosophies are against death penalty due to
this very reason. The law is supposed to protect you, if you are condemned to death
you are not being protected your rights have been violated; you become also a victim of
a crime. You become a criminal when convicted to a crime, so who was this person
before being a criminal, maybe that person has mental problems or looking for revenge
, does that exonerate this person for killing someone else, no but it does not exonerate
the state to justify his crime by taking his life away, by doing that they are promoting an
eye for an eye giving society the message that bad is paid in death and that is wrong ,
you have consequences and you have to pay but paying with death is not the solution.
Many cases have shown doubt in the evidences and many people have died due to
erroneous conclusion, so since many innocents have died due to the governments
choice would it not make them criminals also and should they not be sentenced to
death? Legally killing a person puts humans in a dangerous positions because then
killing will become an act of self preservation or because that person deserved killing,
no one deserves killing they do deserve consequences for their crime but not death.
The cost of carrying out the execution of one person is four times the average
cost of life in prison. The process of carrying out an execution is time consuming and

extremely expensive, not only there is the cost of the life in prison the criminal has when
in death row, there is also the cost of court process, preparing where theyre going to be
executed and many variables. "A 2011 study found that California has spent more than
$4 billion on capital punishment since it was reinstated in 1978 and that death penalty
trials are 20 times more expensive than trials seeking a sentence of life in prison without
possibility of parole. California currently spends $184 million on the death penalty each
year and is on track to spend $1 billion in the next five years." On the contrary the cost
of a lifetime in prison is of five-hundred thousand dollars while death penalty causes
more of a financial problem to taxpayers and to the states, rather than lowering crimes.
Opponents might argue that a life is worth more than all the millions wasted in putting
the criminal in a death row, and it is true on the other hand the death of that person will
not heal the families wounds nor will it end their pain, executions prolong their agony,
instead government could use the money to help the family through counseling or
services to help their needs, maybe the victim was the only provider for the house, the
money could be used to help them monetary. With this in mind states should use all the
expenses for executing criminals and use it for programs such as drug- rehabilitation,
more police officers and better trials, creating a more efficient crime reduction.
In conclusion death penalty, which is a very sensitive subject on both sides of the
case, should be immediately abolished from every state and country that is in favor of it.
Not only does this way of punishment send a wrong message to the public but also it
denies the most basic and fundamental rights of the human race which is life. Killing is
wrong no matter which way people might put it, no matter how many statics of murder
people present, taking a life is wrong and it should be punished in jail not in death. The
NGO is against death penalty, many religions forbid it, and sophisticated societies reject
these thoughts. Instead of wasting money putting a person to death they should help
the victims family, and promote more rehabilitations, increase police officers and simply
instead of eliminating the already criminals they should work to prevents new criminals
from rising. Death penalty does not deter crimes from happening, many are convicted
while being innocent, it promotes killing as an ok solution to difficulties problems. Death
penalty is also given arbitrarily they may be influence by the race, gender and other
facts. In my opinion I restate that a convict should not be punished and set free in death
but rather suffer and pay in jail.