Lastname 1

Firstname Lastname

Instructor’s Name

Course Number

9 March 2018

Capital Punishment

The capital punishment is the termination of the life of a criminal offender that is

sanctioned by the state for the violent, serious offense and 34 states in America now

authorize it. Despite various claims from supporters that capital punishment protects

society by restoring the order, there have been as many as 140 wrongful conviction cases

since 1973, and more than 1,200 people have been executed in the same period

(Rosenthal 12). The present paper suggests that capital punishment is an unnecessary

measure because it does not deter from crime and might kill innocent people.

The most serious punishment has been brought to the forefront of public

consciousness once again despite war crimes and high-profile terrorism cases being

discussed. Many people believe morality and politics are behind the use of capital

punishment: “the crucial question ... concerns its legitimacy and appropriateness, rather

than its efficacy” (Chan and Oxley 24). Dispassionate assessment of evidence concerning

efficacy was never a reason for the decision on whether to abolish or use capital

punishment in the United States. Indeed, such research is mainly done by people who

rather want to discredit opponents or support their convictions. In cases when opinions on

this issue are different, the research is used to “supply evidence that will reassure

supporters and convince the undecided" (Bohm 200).

 Lastname 2

Before explaining how effective the capital punishment is, the theory of

deterrence should be described. Deterrence can be explained as “the effect when a threat

of punishment causes individuals who would have committed the threatened behavior to

refrain from doing so” (Maxfield and Babbie 92). There are special and individual

deterrence. Special deterrence refers to the punishment effect on somebody who was

punished, and General deterrence refers to “inhibiting effect of sanctions on the criminal

activity of people other than the sanctioned offender” (Chan and Oxley 2). Apparently, as

far as the death penalty is concerned, general deterrence is at issue. So the crucial issue is

whether capital punishment deters more than life incarceration as an alternative option.

Data presented by the FBI shows that homicide rates from states that abolished

capital punishment are below or correspond to the national rate (Radelet et al. 489). The

following points contribute to the idea of the death penalty as an unnecessary measure.

First, the cost of capital punishment is higher than of alternative sentences. The biggest

costs of the capital punishment happen before and during the trial and not at appeals.

Second, mental illness is not a hindrance for the capital punishment. International law

prohibits execution of individuals with mental illnesses. But in the United States these

people are barely protected by the Constitution. And despite serious mental conditions

people are executed. Third, capital punishment is unfair and arbitrary. It is almost

impossible for all death row inmates to afford their attorney for protection at trial. They

seem to play a lottery where the main ingredients are plea bargaining, crime location,

local politics and so on. For example, since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the

capital punishment, there have been eighty-two percent of executions that took place in

the southern states. Thirty-seven percent of the executions occurred in Texas alone
 Lastname 3

(Rodelet et al.). Fourth, violations of rights of non-U.S citizens, as since 1988, 28 non-

U.S citizens have been executed. None of them was provided with the right of

communication with representatives from their native countries.

Some supporters of capital punishment say that the risk of making the mistake

in the process of conviction is very small. However, as it was mentioned before, 140

people across the country were wrongfully convicted (9 cases in 2009 alone) (Hood and

Hoyle 251). The reasons for these wrong convictions were racial prejudice, suppression

of mitigating evidence, “snitch” testimonies, police misconduct, inadequate legal

representation, community pressure to solve a case faster and many more.

Another factor that should be changed is arbitrariness of the system. It’s hard to

believe that still there is prejudice when it comes to such matters. The arbitrariness

factors include the inability to afford an attorney, different punishments for co-defendants

and “lottery” nature. Regarding the first respective factor, it is necessary to claim that it is

almost impossible for death row inmates to afford the attorney to represent at trial. The

attorneys who are appointed by the court often work overtime, they are underpaid and

lack the meaningful experience needed for such trials. There are extreme cases when the

attorneys arrived at the trial under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is unacceptable.

Moreover, several co-defendants often receive different punishments. For example, one

defendant can receive a death sentence and the other – prison time. And again, it’s a

lottery. The decision whether to seek or not to seek the capital punishment is made by the

prosecutor. The decision is influenced by the location of the crime, local politics, plea

bargaining or, as strange as it may sound, pure luck.

 Lastname 4

The federal death penalty system also requires special attention. It can be enacted

even in states that abolished the capital punishment, in any territory. Since 2001, there

have been three federal prosecutions. The penalty was expanded in 1994, and 60 different

offenses were added. These are murder for hire, carjacking resulting in death, kidnapping

resulting in death, the murder of government officials and many more. Again, there is a

geographical problem in the federal death penalty system, as 40 percent of all capital

punishment cases since 2001 came from only six jurisdictions. Over half of all 60

prisoners came from the South, twelve cases from Texas. Another six cases came from

states that abolished the capital punishment (Bohm).

Supporters of capital punishment claimed that it helps to protect society by

restoring the order and the costs of death penalty is lower than life without parole..

However, as it was described previously, death penalty most certainly does not deter

criminals from illegal actions. In terms of cost, it was estimated that life without parole

usually cost public $200,000 less than capital punishment cases (Hance et al. 1).

One of the most comprehensive researches ever was conducted by the Death

Penalty Information Center in 2010. The study aimed to study views of American people

on the capital punishment. Approximately 1,500 voters have registered and expressed

their opinion on the issue. The results proved to be different than in previous polls.

Support for alternatives to the capital punishment in the U.S was stronger than ever,

according to the poll. 61% of voters (a clear majority) have chosen different punishment

than the capital punishment (Bohm).

There are some ‘local’ problems that need to be solved. For example, the state of

Florida leads the nation in cases of wrongful convictions. To decide a death sentence, a 7-
 Lastname 5

5 can recommend it. This accounts for a bare majority of the jury, which is unacceptable,

and this is allowed in no other state. The decision should be unanimous. The error

problem would not be eliminated as well; there are cases when unanimous decisions by

juries were wrong. But this could be a step in the right direction in the criminal

punishment system.

My opinion supports the opinion of the American public. Clearly better option is

life without parole and restitution to the victim’s family. The capital punishment is not

effective in crime reduction. But still, capital punishment uses taxpayer dollars and other

resources even if it thought to be inefficient by so many. Criminologists back up the

opinion of the public scientifically as their studies prove that capital punishment is not a

factor that influences the number of murders in the country. Eighteen states have

abolished the capital punishment and proved that it is the best option. We must

understand that capital punishment violates human right to life. And this right could be

violated with a simple human error. Abandoning capital punishment would be giant step

forward because this means moving towards justice.

The government should abolish capital punishment and study growing public

support for the alternatives. The harm of killing people, providing bad services to victims

is not worth the little effect of deterring. People should not be killed. Even if they are

criminals who committed terrible crimes, they still can restitute to families of their

victims and do many more other things. The options and alternatives presented in the

paper point to necessary changes in the death punishment system that transform it in a

way that people as well as me prefer and hope.

 Lastname 6

Works Cited

Bohm, Robert M. Deathquest: An introduction to the theory and practice of capital

punishment in the United States. Routledge, 2011.

Chan, Janet BL, and Deborah Oxley. "Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Review

of the Research Evidence." Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice 84. (2004):

2-24.

Hance, Bryan S., et al. "Death of the death penalty? An examination of California’s

capital punishment system." Journal of Legal Issues and Cases in Business 2

(2013): 1.

Hood, Roger, and Carolyn Hoyle. The death penalty: A worldwide perspective. Oxford

University Press, 2014.

Maxfield, Michael, and Earl Babbie. Research methods for criminal justice and

criminology. Cengage Learning, 2014.

Rosenthal, Jeffrey S. "Probability, Justice, and the Risk of Wrongful Conviction." The

Mathematics Enthusiast 12.1 (2015): 11-18.

Radelet, Michael L., and Traci L. Lacock. "Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates: The

Views of Leading Criminologists'." J. Crim. L. & Criminology 99 (2008): 489.