Death Penalty is Not Worth the Cost (Free Essay Example)

Imagine a man with darker skin is on trial against a lighter skinned man, the darker skinned man was just accused of the murder of the other’s wife. The lighter skinned man is a privileged, rich man, whose business is just now growing, and the darker man’s life is terrible, he’s on the streets, salvaging for food. The darker man was claimed guilty, sent to the death row, although he’s got all the proof it wasn’t him. This costs the government 4 million dollars, and yet, months after the execution, he was found innocent. This happens a lot, the fact that people may be very biased, which costs millions of dollars just to go to waste, and what does everyone get out of it? Nothing. It may as well be that the death penalty should not be an option in the United States because of costs and murder rates.

Due to massive execution, the government spends way too much money on these death sentences. Death penalty costs so much more than what people think, even thousands times more, as this study done by the Death Penalty Information Center claims, “A study in California revealed that the cost of death penalty in the state has been over $4 billion since 1978. Study considered pre-trial and trial costs, costs of automatic appeals and state petitions, costs of federal appeals, and costs of imprisonment on death row” (Alarcon & Mitchell, 2011). This indicates the fact that people spend millions on each trial and execution, they pay taxes and for food, and does that go to better lives, or do they use it to kill an innocent person. The government spending that money is not safe, as they are risking more and more lives, instead of saving what they can. In the time it takes to execute that wrong-doer, they could build a new library or a school. In Texas, it might just be worse, they could spend forty years instead of an amusing execution, saving so much more money, “In Texas, a death penalty case costs an average of $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years” (Dallas Morning News, March 8, 1992). As it costs three times more to kill somebody than imprison them, they are killing a changeable heart. Forty years in prison can change someone, teach them a lesson, save a life, and save money. Without killing them, you save $1.5 million dollars, which can be turned into more profit. From one life you get nothing, from sparing them, or even just a life sentence in prison, without execution, you get millions and another life not spent. So by killing others, we spend money, lives, and time. Spending that money kills more than one life, such as the ability to help the poor. Within the lives of others, some on the line, killing can cause a much worse outcome in financial, medical, and physical aid.

Death doesn’t just affect finance, but murder rates aren’t going down either. The Death Penalty Information Center has shown that the executions don’t actually slow the murder rates, “The Northeast, which has fewer than 0.5% of all executions, has consistently has the lowest murder rates… The South had by far the highest murder rate. The South accounts for more than 80% of executions'' (DPIC). Residents would think that scaring others with death that the murder rates would go down, but instead they have increased. The South has most executions due to murder rates, but the murder rates also haven’t been gong down. The Northeast doesn’t have to fear death penalty and coincidentally, the murder rates are lower than the place with the highest executions. David von Drehle, a journalist, author, and researcher, saw that as soon as the Death Penalty was allowed, the murder rates skyrocketed, “After the Supreme Court approved the modern penalty in 1976, support for the death penalty skyrocketed in lockstep with the murder rate. By the time New York City recorded more than 2,200 murders in the single year of 1990, 4 of 5 Americans were pro-death-penalty, according to Gallup” (Drehle). As Drehle has said, executions only make murder rates increase. When they threatened Death Penalty, they didn’t care, they went right along with it. Because of this, people are more scared than ever, because if the Death Penalty comes back to everyone, so will sky-high murder rates. Murder isn’t a fun thing, it’s serious and the Death Penalty is doing nothing to stop it. As seen, the government and law enforcement has already tried to use the Death Penalty, and as a stuttering result, the murder rates have only increased.

Though the death penalty should not be an option, some may have other believes, because of average murders and debates across the nation. David Muhlhausen, PhD., talks about how executions resulted in fewer murders, “For instance, a 2003 study by Emory University researchers of data from more than 3,000 countries from 1977 to 1996 found that each execution, on average, resulted in 18 fewer murders per country” (Muhlhausen). When the death penalty was used, countries had lower average murders, and therefore it should be allowed. If that happens a lot, the average can go down to zero. Mark Rosen, sportscaster, considers how many people support the death penalty, “The gap has closed since 1994, when 80 percent favored it and 16 percent opposed. But support has remained in a consistent range of about 2-to-1 over the last decade” (Rosen). Most Americans favor the death penalty. As they have their rights, the people’s word is our word. If most people favor it, it should be allowed due to being favored by most. The death penalty is supported by most and is dropping average murders in many countries.

Even though many Americans might favor the death penalty, and the fact other countries have lower murder rates, that doesn’t apply to the USA, and chief policeman agree. The murder rate has not gone far down, and is still favored by many, “By the time New York City recorded more than 2,200 murders in the single year of 1990, 4 of 5 Americans were pro-death-penalty, according to Gallup” (Drehle). The murder rate is only going up with support for the death penalty, death is supported on either side. If one is eliminated, chances are so is the other. Even police chiefs say that the death penalty is a waste of time and money, “A 2009 poll commissioned by DPIC found police chiefs ranked the death penalty last among ways to reduce violent crimes. The police chiefs also considered the death penalty the least efficient use of taxpayers’ money” (DPIC). There’s no reason t support the death penalty if authorities themselves are a waste of time. Without killing, we save authorities, ourselves, and the criminal from unnecessary death and costs.

All in all, the death penalty isn’t worth millions of dollars, especially because it doesn’t even stop murderers. That doesn’t help the fact that the murder rate hasn’t been going down, instead the death penalty has been supporting the deaths. So, we should refrain supporting politicians that support the death penalty, as our population with be stumbling to the depths.