Death Penalty in Us

Serena Cothron
4/14/10
Mr. Kimberly 4th period

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It denies criminals their natural born right to life. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the eighteenth century. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, and burning alive. In the tenth century, hanging became the usual method of execution in Britain. Britain influenced America's use of the death penalty more than any other country. When European settlers came to the new world, they brought the practice of capital punishment. The plague of our current society. The death penalty should be abolished because it has never been shown to stop crimes more effectively than other punishments, there are serious economic consequences, and it involves a increased risk of error.

First, the death penalty has never been shown to stop crimes more effectively than other punishments. Most people who commit murders either do not expect to be caught or do not carefully consider the differences between a possible execution and life in prison before they commit the murder. When people murder they don’t feel anything. They are most often committed in moments of intense anger or passion. After they already did it and can’t take it back, most of the time they realize what they did and are shocked. They get scared and don’t know what to do. Does that sound like a coldblooded killer to you?

Also, there are serious economic consequences. Various state governments estimate that a single death penalty case, from the point of arrest to execution, ranges from $1 million to $3 million per case. Other studies have estimated the cost to be as high as $7 million. The millions of dollars spent on capital punishment cuts into resources for other community interests, such as schools, hospitals, public safety, and jobs. Taking this money away will make the economy worse, but for what? To kill...