The Death Penalty in America
Capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty, and since ancient times it has been used to punish a wide variety of offenses. Death penalty laws date back as far as the Eighteenth century B.C. The Bible prescribes death for murder and many other crimes, including kidnapping and witchcraft. In the eleventh century William the Conqueror banned execution for any crime, except in times of war. By 1500 in England, only major felonies carried the death penalty. Crimes such as treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. By 1800, however, the English Parliament had enacted many new capital offenses, and hundreds of people were being sentenced to death each year. Reform of the death penalty began in Europe by the 1750's, and was lead by such thinkers as the Italian jurist Cesare Beccaria, the French philosopher Voltaire, and the English law reformer Jeremy Bentham. They argued that the death penalty was needlessly cruel, overrated as a deterrent, and occasionally imposed in fatal error. Along with Quaker leaders and other social reformers, they proclaimed life imprisonment a more rational alternative. In the United States, prior to the Civil War, the death penalty was imposed on slaves for many crimes punished
The cost that death penalty cases place on communities is tremendous. Death penalty cases on average cost three times as much as comparable trials seeking life in prison without possibility of parole. North Carolina spends on average $2.16 million per execution and Florida spends on average $3.2 million per execution. In Texas the average death penalty case cost $2.3 million, almost three times the cost of imprisoning someone in the highest level of security for forty years. Death penalty cases place an extraordinary financial burden on small counties. The Mississippi Supreme Court ordered that counties start paying attorneys for post conviction appeals. Chancery Clerk Butch Scipper of Quitman county in Mississippi said "We are probably the poorest county in the state. We have no cash reserves and nothing is budgeted for this type of expense." He went on to say that they would have to raise taxes in order to pay for the death penalty. Officials in Okanogan county in Washington delayed county employees pay raises, decided not to replace two of four public health nurses, ordered a halt on non-emergency travel and put a hold on updating computers and county vehicles all in anticipation of death penalty trial costs. Thurston county also in Washington is trying Mitchell Rupe on his third death sentence. While Mitchell Rupe is dying of liver disease they have made efforts to keep him from dying of natural causes. In 1999 the county budgeted $346,000 to continue and try Rupe. County employees in rural counties should not be deprived of pay raises and new computers so a man who is already dying can be executed instead. Capital punishment is revenge not justice. If the death penalty was abolished in favor of life in prison without possibility of parole, tax money could be spent on more important things such as education and health care. The death penalty is a very controversial subject in America. From the coffee machine in the CNN newsroom to the bars in San Francisco, and from the slums of Detroit to the mansions of Santa Barbara people are discussing their views on whether or not the death penalty is an acceptable method in punishing criminals. One of the many ethical problems we face in society today is the issue of capital punishment. Proponents of the death penalty feel that if you take someone's life, you in turn should have your life taken. This is a barbaric attitude held by many in our civilized society.The justice system does not beat the wife beater, rape the rapist, or torch the home of an arsonist. Therefore they should not punish the murderer with murder. We all recognize that murder is a terrible crime that should be punished. However, two wrongs have never made a right. Many questions about the issue still exist. I will talk about three reasons why I feel the death penalty should be abolished. The death penalty is final and irreversible, it is not a clearly proven deterrent to crime, and the cost of death penalty cases is astronomical. Any punishme
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Approximate Word count = 2012
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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