Death Penalty Debate Essay, Research Paper
Should the death penalty be nationwide?
Thirty-eight states have the death penalty. There are 7-10 types of homicides that are
punishable by death.. No one under 18 can be given the death penalty. Lethal injection is the
most common form of execution. It is used in 32 states. Other forms of execution include
electrocution, firing squad, gas chamber, and hanging. Three-thousand-five-hundred people are
currently on death row awaiting execution.
The death penalty should be eliminated completely. It is not fair to kill potentially
innocent people because they had a poor or inexperienced lawyer. The death penalty is to
expensive and it does not deter crime. It is these three main reasons that I feel the death
penalty should be abolished.
It is unfair to kill those who had a bad lawyer. Many of the people facing the death
sentence cannot afford a good lawyer therefore one is appointed to them. Often times these
lawyers are young and inexperienced. Because of this people are being put to death because of
the mistakes their lawyers made. “Poor people get poor representation. Thy are represented by
overworked public defenders and private lawyers whore aren’t getting paid. That’s not equal
justice.” said a Louisiana lawyer. We cannot sentence people to death because of the mistakes
of others.
The death penalty is way too expensive. The government spends over $2 million dollars
per execution on extra costs that are only there because of the death penalty. This goes beyond
the costs of a typical murder case without the death penalty and costs of incarceration resulting
from a life sentence. The trial alone is 3.5 times more expensive than if the death penalty had
not been sought. And the cost is doubled to execute someone rather than keep him/her in prison
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On top of the cost of the death penalty, research shows that the death penalty does not
deter crime. In two neighboring states one with the death penalty and one with out, the state
without the death penalty had less crime. In a survey of police chiefs across the country,
expanding the death penalty was the least effective way to deter crime. Many of the people on
death row were faced with death every day of their life, therefore the threat of getting the death
penalty has no effect on them. Statistics show that the best way to deter crime is swift and sure
action. The death penalty is anything but swift or sure.
However, there is evidence in the bible that justifies the death penalty. “Whoever shed’s
man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” (Genesis 9:6) But who is to judge whether or not
someone should die? “May the lord be our judge.” (1 Samuel 24:15) “May the lord avenge the
wrongs you have done me.”
(1samuel 24:12) The Bible also says “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But every one
also knows that two wrongs don’t make a right. It is very simple, sentencing someone to the
death penalty is the same as killing them and killing is wrong.
There is no good reason to keep the death penalty because it has no effect on the
deterrence of crime. We need to stop wasting money on the death penalty and invest that
money in crime prevention methods such as reducing drug abuse, bettering the economy and
providing more job opportunities, simplifying court rule and give longer prison sentences, putting
more police officers on the streets, and reducing guns on the streets. Without first taking these
proper advances in crime prevention the death penalty is a waste of time and money
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