Now does the death penalty truly deter crimes and murder? This question is in the center of a big political controversy over this topic. Some people oppose the death penalty because of the many people on death row today. Statistics also state that states with capital punishment have a higher crime rate then those that do not. Therefore, it is not an effective penalty, it is ineffective and a waist of our hard earned tax dollars. This process costs between 500,000 to 1,000,000 dollars annually. I have to say that the states that have capital punishment are usually urbanized areas that have high crime rates because of the enormous population. Rather, in rural states there is no need for the death penalty because everyone is scattered around and the population is not as big.

Abolitionists explain that capital punishment is a racist penalty. They say it is only

With a good lawyer anyone who is sentenced to life or death can depend more on their lawyer than on a crime. This statement stands true on various examples; the O.J Simpson Trial, and the "Unabomber" killed so many people and he is still living after they have proof that he one of the killers. Other murderers have killed only 1 and are put to death immediately, without question. It is wrong to have these killers laugh in the face of society just because they have a good lawyer that knows how to manipulate the system. It is bad to see this happen because justice never gets served. If they kill people and plan the killing there should be no question about it, no lawyer, nothing whatsoever. If they are strong enough to take away innocent people's lives they should be ready to pay the consequences.

Jail for some individuals is not good because in jail they will eat 3 times a day, have a toilet and have a bed to sleep in with new covers everyday, watch television and make friends with other crazy inmates that fits there taste. They will be living a descent life and thinking about what rotten crime they will commit when they get out. Also, some believe that by not executing a victim's murderer, one is putting higher value to a murderer's life than on the victim.

given to the minorities. It is not fair to say that because the sad fact is that the majority of the people on death row are blacks and whites. There are approximately 3,000 for both ethnic groups and the closest group after that is the Hispanic's with about 200. I think it is wrong to be racist, but if they get caught, no matter their race they should be sentenced to death.

I believe it is morally wrong to have mentally retarded people on death row, because, they do not have an understanding about things and they could accidentally kill someone out of curiosity. If someone says that they are mentally retarded to see if they can sneak out of getting capital punishment I think he should be sent to an experienced doctor and be pronounced mentally retarded. In December 1989, the US Supreme Court ruled that it was not unconstitutional to execute mentally retarded people. Since then about 50 have been executed. I think they should be taken to jail for some time and watched at a hospital.

For the state to decide whether a known murderer is to be put to death or to be given jail time is a hard decision. Because, you h

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Approximate Word count = 1611
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)