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Aubrey Wiltshire

Professor Cassel

English 1201.121

17 April 2019

What are the Effects of Capital Punishment on America?

“Since the earliest recorded execution in the United States in 1608, our country has put to

death approximately 16,000 men and women” (Sarat). Capital punishment is the act of legally

killing a person as a punishment for a crime they convicted. Capital punishment has a long

history in the United States, starting as early as 1608 and is ongoing today.

It’s important to understand what capital punishment is and how it has influenced the

United States since 1608 until today, 2019. “Capital punishment is currently legal in thirty

states” (30 States with the Death Penalty). Although this is true, it should be prohibited because

it’s inhumane and inefficient.

Capital punishment started around 1608 in the United States according to some of the

most recent records. Some different ways that capital punishment has been enforced is by the act

of hanging, lethal injection, gas chambers and the electric chair. Hanging is the act of strangling

someone with a noose. Lethal injection is used by the insertion of a drug into someone’s vein.

Gas chambers poison people with cyanide gas and electrocution is when a person is strapped to a

chair and is electrocuted through electrodes.

In 1608, the most common form was hanging since it wasn’t recognized as cruel back

then like it is currently to most people. In 2019, the most common form of execution is either
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lethal injection or the electric chair. This is because it normally happens pretty fast, or at least

that’s what it’s put out to be.

Capital punishment is inhumane. There have been many complications in the past where

people were being put to death after a crime. For example, “more than 4,000 have been put to

death by electrocution. Approximately two percent of them were botched, some of them when

the condemned caught on fire and filled the death chamber with smoke and the smell of burning

flesh” (Sarat).

The act of botching during execution is not only one of the failed ways in which capital

punishment has been enforced but there has also been complications in which prosecutors have

trouble finding a vein to inject the drug that slows brain activity and eventually kills them. This

is the unfortunate truth to what’s currently still going on in the United States. America has

attempted to make capital punishment safe and humane but has failed immensely.

Capital punishment is inefficient. For example, “the death penalty is an exceedingly

expensive part of the criminal justice system…in a death penalty case it takes longer and is more

complicated. In terms of cost, it means that expenses are much higher than an ordinary capital

case, more experts are needed and more questions will be asked of potential jurors” (Dieter). So

to put it into perspective, not only does it take a lot more time than other cases but it’s very

expensive.

People who are on death row are on it for years; therefore the money to keep them on it is

outrageous. There is a common misconception that people have about capital punishment and it

is, “the death penalty is the notion that it saves money because executed defendants no longer

have to be cared for at the state’s expense” (Dieter).

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On the contrary, some people think that capital punishment is needed in the United States

government. People believe this because they assume that it saves money since the inmates don’t

have to be cared for anymore. Also, experts say it’s a proper punishment to kill these criminals,

especially mass murderers. Capital punishment is a very controversial topic to many people.

These criminals need punished no matter what.

Another thing experts say is good about capital punishment is without it, crime increases.

If people knew there wasn’t a death penalty for committing a crime then there might be more

crime activity. Experts also say that it doesn’t violate our eighth amendment (cruel and unusual

punishment) since the criminals “get what they deserve.”

Also, many people include that capital punishment should be enforced for people like

mass murderers; this is a very logical point. In cases like these, capital punishment should be

enforced, but when looked at this way, murder is murder; this is why as people it shouldn’t be

enforced to put out the wrong idea: punishing murder with murder. Many people believe that the

government should punish murder with murder since it’s what they deserve.

A lot of people don’t like the idea of capital punishment because of their religion, they

state that the government shouldn’t make the decision to kill one another; that’s between them

and God. This is also a valid point that many find controversial. This is a valid point but what

about the people who are wrongly accused and are killed for something they didn’t do?

There have been many cases in which there is physical evidence where the person

accused of the crime is killed when they didn’t commit the crime. For example, Carlton Gary

was accused of raping and killing three white women. Even after DNA samples from the
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investigation that didn’t match with Carlton, he was executed in 2018 after being on death row

since 1986; that’s thirty-two years too long.

Imagine waking up every day not knowing whether it’s going to be the last day alive. Not

only did the DNA results not match him but there was no essential evidence against him. Some

people say that this is a race issue because this man was black and was allegedly accused of

killing three white women. This could very much be a race issue, and I’m sure there are way

more cases like Carlton’s out there.

On the other hand, there was a case with Chris Watts and he was accused of strangling

his pregnant wife and his two little girls on the morning of August 13, 2018. At first, he said no

to the allegations to him killing them but then later admitted yes to killing them. Even after lying

about it at first and then later admitting to it he was sentenced to life in prison. Since both of

these cases happened in the past year, it’s still seen as prevalent today.

While comparing both cases, it’s assumed to be a race issue since the black man

committed the same crime and got executed while the white man just got sentenced to life in

prison. It’s argued that whatever judge is on the case is supposed to be solely neutral and not take

their own beliefs in consideration; this is not always the case, though. Racism is still an issue

today in the United States, but that’s for another time. So, why else is capital punishment

negative for the government?

“If nearly any murder can qualify for the death penalty, the board argues, then sentencing

becomes the result of selective prosecution rather than consistent application of law” (Gale). To

put this into perspective, this source is basically saying that these types of cases aren’t justified
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enough as they should be. It’s wrong to assume a person committed a crime with no likeable

evidence and execute them because “it seems like the best option.”

It is very likely that people are wrongly accused and executed for some crime they didn’t

commit, as shown earlier in the writing it happens, all of the time; and this is the sad truth to our

past and current society. It’s actually been proven that some states like Arizona, qualify any

murder with the death penalty. Imagine nearly every murder whether it’s justly or not is counted

as reasonable enough to be executed entirely.

After an interview with my sister who studies political science she said, “It’s almost

impossible for people to give orders without resorting to their own personal emotions behind

their decision making, so it is important to take in all possible information and decide what is the

most humane and efficient way to outgo trials like the death penalty.” It’s important to have a

careful mind to what is being carried out in the government, especially in the United States

today.

The visual above represents "capital punishment" or commonly known as the death

penalty. The visual shows that it is referring to the death penalty since it shows a bed where it
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straps a person down. This is a common way in which it is performed. The claim that the visual

is making is that people on death row usually are on it for multiple years. There is a certain

comedy to it, though. The visual appeals to pathos. This is because it makes people laugh which

is an emotion.

It’s also important to research U.S. presidents running for office to see their sides on

issues like capital punishment. It’s easy to blame the president for laws being carried out but if

one doesn’t do anything to stop it, then that’s being a hypocrite. If one does their research and

votes for their opinion of the best president, then there’s no reason to protest on what’s going on

in the government.

Capital punishment has become more recognized in the current society today because of

its’ overall effects on the United States. For example, Netflix released a popular documentary

series called, “The Ted Bundy Tapes,” which then got put into a movie that airs on Netflix May

3, 2019. The series became very popular and hit nationwide rankings, thus why it was turned into

a movie, starring Zac Efron as the lead role.

Ted Bundy is one of the many people who have had to face the death penalty but before

he did, the trial lasted for more than a decade. Imagine the amount of countless hours and money

it took to determine a verdict from this case. This is one of many cases that are totally inefficient

and useless.

Another series shown on Netflix is called, “I Am a Killer.” This show provides insight to

people who are or were on death row convicted with capital murder. The show brought multiple

inmates in to tell how they got on death row and their stories. According to the show, I Am a

Killer, “there have been more than 8,000 people sentenced to death for murder since 1976.”
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The show starts out with a guy named James Robertson and the first thing he tells is how

long he had been on death row, which was thirty-seven years. He continues to say what he did to

get on death row. Later in the show after he told his story, it says that James was put to death

after thirty-seven years of being on death row. These people’s stories are personal, the fact that

Netflix got to be able to showcase them is disgusting.

The overall point of discussing these shows that are being showcased to a public audience

is that they do this to get more money since people are interested in these kinds of cases. The

thing that these producers to the shows are not thinking about is the personal feelings of the

inmates involved. This all comes back to the idea of what is humane and what isn’t. Is it okay to

punish murder with murder? No. Is it necessary to exploit personal information about death row

inmates? No. The answer is no to these questions because it’s inhumane and unnecessary.

In conclusion to what was discussed in this paper, it comes down to whether capital

punishment should be legal in all fifty states or not. Based on personal opinion, one might vote

yes to capital punishment while the other votes no. Regardless of personal opinion, capital

punishment is inhumane and inefficient, as shown throughout the paper. There is multiple use of

evidence that backs up this claim.

In this paper, one will now know what capital punishment is, the effects of capital

punishment on the United States and different reasons including cases that back up the claim to

how capital punishment is inhumane and inefficient. As stated in the introduction, it’s important

to understand what capital punishment is and how it has influenced the United States in the past

and today. Towards the end of the paper, one should know how capital punishment has

influenced the past and present of the United States.

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Works Cited

Dieter, Richard C. "The Death Penalty Is Too Costly for Society." Death Penalty, edited by Noël

Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010955216/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid

=48b4be5d. Accessed 8 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "Testimony of Richard C.

Dieter, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center," 2013.

Sarat, Austin. "The Overwhelming Evidence Against the Death Penalty." Opposing Viewpoints

Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/YGCWHT883178151/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVI

C&xid=3c65c14e. Accessed 8 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "The Overwhelming

Evidence Against the Death Penalty," The New Republic, 1 May 2017.

The Times Editorial Board. "The Supreme Court Should Strike Down Broad Definitions of

Capital Crimes." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/AVIGTK232215301/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVI

C&xid=f7dca18e. Accessed 8 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "The Supreme Court

has the chance to end the death penalty. They should take it," Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec.

2017.

Wiltshire, Brianna. Personal Interview. 27 April 2019.

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“30 States with the Death Penalty and 20 States with Death Penalty Bans.” Should the Death

Penalty Be Allowed?, deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001172.