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Lauren E. Dorf
Mrs. Swanick
Honors 9 English
20 January 2017
Opposing the Death Penalty
On July 2, 1972, a bill was signed by congress that condoned the death penalty
(ProCon.org). This was the result of the all time high crime rates during the 1970s. Since this
day, 1,443 people have been executed by the United States government. Many states began to
change their policies on punishment due to the belief that it would help decrease the large
numbers of extreme crimes (Whats New). Capital punishment is defined as the legally
authorized killing of someone as a punishment for a crime (Capital Punishment). It has
become very controversial topic over time. Citizens who are for capital punishment believe that
it brings closure to the victims family and that it plays a role in scaring citizens away from
committing such heinous crimes. Citizens who are opponents of capital punishment believe it is
immoral and that the idea should be viewed as barbaric in our westernized, modern society.
However, the details are bold. In the U.S., capital punishment is an option for Sixty offenses.
One can be executed for causing harm, being involved in an act that could risk the life of another,
intentionally killing someone, or multiple people. As felons continue to make their way into
death row, causing the list to grow, people are beginning to change their stance on sentencing the
convicted with such a punishment (Crimes Punishable by). The changes are beginning to show,
as Nineteen states have completely abolished the death penalty in the US, while a handful of
other states have developed other methods, such as a Governor-imposed moratorium (Whats
New). This ruling from the Governor, gives orders to suspend the execution of a convict

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(moratorium). Capital punishment should be illegal in the United States because it is costly, it
is unconstitutional, and there is possibility of mistake.
Many people believe that execution is less expensive, as opposed to the costs of
incarceration for life . However, this is proven to be the opposite. One of the biggest factors of
money is used for a death penalty trial. Unlike other capital offense cases, there are two trials.
The first trial determines whether the defendant is guilty, and the second trial determines the
punishment or sentence. The state, who takes the role of the prosecutor, has the option of using
any information offered, or that is believed to be relevant in the case. The prosecutor will then
use factual evidence, including the information that they have collected, and will use it to prove
that the defendant is guilty. If the jury decides that the defendant is guilty, they will proceed to
the second trial (What Makes a). The Kansas Judicial council stated that in 2014, Defense
costs for death penalty trials in Kansas averaged about $400,000 per case, compared to $100,000
per case when the death penalty was not sought (Whats New). During the second trial, the
trial court has to evaluate all of the information that has been given, and determine the
punishment that the defendant will be convicted. The state has to prove to the jury that the
defense is guilty of a capital offense (What Makes a). Not only does the trial take an
expensive, extended period of time, but the length of time that a convict will spend on death row
costs a whole lot more than the alternative of punishing them with life-without-parole. A study
done by Phillip J. Cook, a professor at University of North Carolina, concluded that North
Carolina could save eleven million dollars per year by revoking the death penalty. Across the
nation, states are increasingly struggling with budget. Abolishing the death penalty would leave
millions of dollars left to pay for other capital expenses.

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One does not have to sympathize with or support the convict to want to abolish the death
penalty. Many support the death penalty, because they want to bring justice to the victim, and
bring closure to their family. Therefore, punishing the convict with death is immoral, and based
off of emotion. The question of the state having the right to take someones life, is what makes
this immoral. The outcomes of many executions, and the punishments that the government has
pegged are in direct violation of the 8th amendment that reads Cruel and unusual punishment
[shall not be] inflicted (Amendments of the Constitution). Republican appointee Cormac J.
Carney of Southern California ruled that The death penalty in Americas largest state has
become unconstitutionally random (Whats New). He claims that the death penalty may have
once had an effect, but the sentencing of the death penalty, and the long period of time between
the sentence and the execution is unjust. By looking deeper into the cases that have resulted in
the death penalty in the US, one would find that not all of the convicts sentenced to death
committed crimes as extreme as murder. An eye for an eye (Exodus) is a popular saying that is
commonly used by proponents of the death penalty when the topic of capital punishment is
discussed. This historic quote is based off of the idea that there will be equal punishment for the
act performed. It is used to defend the governments reasonings for sentencing an individual to
the end of their life. However, the sentencing of execution for committing a crime such as drug
curtailing, would not be an equal punishment. When someone is jailed for raping someone, they
are not punished with rape. When someone is jailed for robbing someone, they are not punished
with being robbed themselves. For these reasons, the morality of punishing a convict with death
is inequitable.
The government developed lethal injection as an alternative to the horrid ways of
hanging, gassing, or electrocution, of which had many recorded instances of going horribly

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wrong. However, the unpleasantness of thrashing around, and screaming is not something that
would usually be thought of as a good alternative. For Clayton Lockett, the injection did not
seem to be working as he screamed and lashed in pain. After forty minutes his life concluded
with a heart attack. A similar and more gruesome case took place about a year earlier, when the
execution of Joseph Wood took close to two hours finalize (Von Drehle 29). Unfortunately these
are only a couple of cases, and most of them occur in front of their loved ones. Ever since the EU
completely abolished the capital punishment (Whats New), the US has had to develop a new
system of execution that is not cruel and unusual (Cruel and Unusual Punishment).
However, this new system has not had much success. There have been seventy-five recorded
cases of botched executions since the development of lethal injection (Whats New). Ironically,
compared to what the government claims is the safest execution, lethal injection has been found
to have the highest rate of botched killings. This rate was studied by Austin Sarat, a professor of
jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College. He describes each of the governments
attempts at a modernized method by stating that "With each development in the technology of
execution, the same promises have been made, that each new technology was safe, reliable,
effective and humane. Those claims have not generally been fulfilled" (Whats New). No
wonder medical professionals refuse to be a part of this debacle. Yet people still seem to believe
that this new execution style is a well constructed procedure that involves no suffering. Some
may be in support of harshly executing someone, because they are blinded by the emotion they
feel for the loss of an innocent victim. How can we support a system that has cases of false
convictions? Executing someone that is not guilty is just as much of a murder as the killing of
pedestrian walking on the streets of Chicago. This is where the biggest heart wrenching fault lies.
Unfortunately, these cases exist, and the realization of the false conviction is too late. The

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executions of Ruben Cantu, Larry Griffin, Joseph ODell, David Spence, Leo Jones, Richard
Materson (Whats New), and the other 4% of executions that have taken taken place since
1976. Although, there are cases of people on death row that are released because they were
wrongfully convicted (Whats New). Two teenage men were wrongfully convicted and
sentenced to death in NC. They were released after the DNA proved their innocence. Their
release was thirty years after they were imprisoned (Von Drehle pg 30) Another example of this
was when a 12 year old boy was freed after thirty-nine years when he finally got his trial and
was able to confess that he made up the entire story to protect a cop (Von Drehle 30).
The government should begin abolishing capital punishment because it is uneconomical,
illicit, and the cases that result in misjudgement. Proponents of capital punishment argue that it is
more cost efficient to kill a convict, rather than jail them for life. However, looking into the costs
of a death penalty cases, and examining the time period a convict will spend on death row,
proves that the ending costs are higher when a prisoner is executed. The government has made an
attempt to move away from cruel and unusual punishment(Cruel and Unusual Punishment),
but their solution of death by lethal injection has not been proven to be much greater. The
amount of execution botches that have occurred, causing the convict to die in pain in front of
their loved ones, has led many people to disagree over the rights given in the constitution. The
fact that this alternative to capital punishment is now a practical possibility has fed the shift in
public opinion, for most people realize that being locked in a solitary cell forever is a terrible
punishment (Von Drehle 32). Too many people have been wrongly convicted, leading to their
innocent deaths. Capital punishment is a paradox. Killing someone because they are a murderer
is a conundrum that causes many people to disagree over this topic. The execution of a criminal
is based on emotion, rather than rationality. It is time for the government to end these ancient

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ways, and become the modernized nation that we claim to be. Our founding fathers would be
thinking the same thing. When did the government get to decide who lives, and who dies?

Works Cited

Capital Punishment. N.p.: n.p., n.d. The Oxford Dictionary. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Wests Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2.
2008. The Gale Group 20 Jan. 2017 http://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Cruel+and+Unusual+Punishment
Exodus. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Bible Hub. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.
moratorium. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 20 Jan. 2017.
<Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/moratorium>.
Von Drehle, David. Bungled Executions. Backlogged Courts. And Three More Reasons
The Modern Death Penalty Is A Failed Experiment. (Cover Story). Time 185.21 (2015):
26. Middle Search Main Edition. Web. 13 Jan. 2017.
What Makes a Death Penalty Case Different from Other Criminal Cases? - Death
Penalty - ProCon.org. ProConorg Headlines. ProCon, 29 Oct. 2008. Web. 19 Jan. 2017.
Whats New. DPIC | Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.