The Cost of the Death Penalty

The Cost of the Death Penalty

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       As Martin Luther King Jr. once stated, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.” These words spoked by Martin Luther King Jr., still resonate in today’s society. We have seen how violence can escalate with more violence rather than it being handled to reclaim justice. According to FBI, they note, “Based on reported data, show a violent crime occurred, on average, every 25.9 seconds in 2024. The breakdown shows on average a murder occurred every 31.1 minutes and a rape occurred every 4.1 minutes.” This suggests that as we go about our lives, we're often unaware of the crimes happening around us. Eventually those individuals that are committing these violent acts get caught and will have to face the consequences. Depending on the severity of the crime committed, it may lead to community service, life imprisonment, or even the death penalty. The death penalty has been around since the 2100 BCE. Throughout history, the use of the death penalty has changed in different societies and cultures overtime Methods of execution have included beheading, hanging, electrocution, shooting, and lethal injection. “As of today, the death penalty is still in place in the U.S. However, the death penalty is only authorized in 27 states. Over time, the use of the death penalty has become increasingly controversial, sparking debate over whether we should continue to allow this punishment for individual crimes or seek less violent, yet still severe alternatives. The methods of how this capital punishment is executed are heinous and irreversible. Many people are in agreement that the death penalty should be abolished, and we should instead find alternative ways to see justice done. The death penalty should be abolished due to its cruelty, the risk of executing innocent individuals, and its ineffectiveness as a deterrent to crime.

    

        The death penalty is considered a brutal punishment. The death penalty is essentially the state taking a human life based on an individual's actions, with no possibility of reversal. Consequently, this form of cruel punishment can be viewed as a violation of the Eighth Amendment. According to the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (U.S. Const. amend. VIII), “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The death penalty’s effect of it being an irreversible action directly challenges the definition of cruel and unusual punishment that is described as the Eighth Amendment. Not only does the death penalty cause physical harm, but it can also inflict psychological torture. To explain, the individual who is sentenced for the death penalty has to experience the state of a waiting period to then be executed. This period can range from weeks, months, and even years. This is considered a form of mental torture as they have zero control over the situation. One must also consider the methods of execution themselves. Lethal injection, electrocution, and the gas chamber all carry risks of severe pain and suffering for the individual, further contributing to how immoral and cruel this punishment is. Furthermore, some individuals who are sentenced for the death penalty have prior mental disabilities which causes further harm. According to the “Washington and Lee Law Review,” they stated, “Mental disability can undermine the reliability and fairness of capital adjudication at every stage of the process, from the defendant’s very first interaction with law enforcement to the waning minutes before a scheduled execution,” (Bonnie, Pg 1446). This quote expresses how the death penalty is not only causing psychological torture to individuals without prior mental disabilities, but it is also inflicting harm on those who do have those mental disabilities and is not being taken with fairness for those. This further proves how the death penalty constantly is not reliable and causing more harm than justice in the criminal system. As you can see the death penalty impacts not only the individuals physical but also their psychological health in a way that is a violation of our fundamental human rights.

    

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    The death penalty risks the irreversible execution of wrongfully convicted individuals. Despite the government and criminal justice system's processes, the death penalty still carries the risk of individuals being wrongfully prosecuted and executed for others' crimes. According to Hugo Adam Bedau, the Supreme Court acknowledged flaws in death penalty laws in the early 1970s and attempted to reform them through “guided discretion” in sentencing. However, these changes served to conceal the unsystematic nature of execution sentencing rather than address the main issue (Bedau). This shows how the supreme court which is one of highest branches in the U.S government had recognized the flaws in the death penalty and continued to allow for it to continue and risk the lives of individuals who were falsely convicted. In the same article Bedau mentions, “Since the modern death penalty era began in 1973, at least 200 people have been exonerated from death row across the United States. At least 21 others who were likely innocent have already been executed,” (Bedau). This statistic highlights the serious risk of wrongful execution and confirms that the system has allowed such cases to occur over the past five decades. This once again is causing psychological damage to those individuals who have been falsely prosecuted and instead of the government taking accountability and making immediate changes, they are allowing for this to continue. Unlike other wrongful convictions where the individual can possibly be released and receive some type of compensation, this does not apply when dealing with the death penalty. There is no way to undo a wrongful execution. Thus, the death penalty should not be perceived as roulette game, as it involves decisions with potentially irreparable consequences on people’s lives.

  

      The common misconception that the death penalty effectively deters crime rates is consistently proven false. For decades, people who support the capital punishment have believed that the death penalty can help prevent violent acts, such as assault, armed assault, and especially murder. This belief arise from what is known as the deterrence theory. This is the idea that extreme punishments will prevent people from committing such crimes. However, in reality there is credible evidence that contradicts this assumption.  This can be seen in the report “What Caused the Crime Decline” which states, “Empirically, capital punishment is too infrequent to have a measurable effect on the crime drop. Criminologically, the existence and use of the death penalty may not even create the deterrent effect on potential offenders that lawmakers hoped when enacting such laws,” (Roeder et al. 43). In other words, the death penalty is way too rare and ineffective to influence crime rates. There was such a low number of cases that cannot create a widespread deterrent effect. In addition to that, the Death Penalty Information Center, found that, “The National Academy of Sciences has concluded that past studies have neither proven nor disproven a deterrent effect.” This indicates that despite decades of ongoing research, there is no proven evidence that the death penalty deters crimes, specifically homicides. Many people continue to infer rather than rely on factual, evidence-based research from credible sources about the supposed benefits of capital punishment. That is why it is important for us to understand this evidence I have presented and be more aware of how extreme punishments do not prevent or reduce crimes. With a better understanding of the evidence, we can find alternative ways to reduce crime instead of relying on the death penalty. Overall, the widespread belief that the death penalty deters crime is a misconception. Decades of research and analysis clearly show that it does not prevent violent acts, making it an ineffective and irreversible approach to criminal justice.

        Many people believe that the death penalty helps bring justice to victims and, in return, makes society safer. However, this belief is false. Overtime, the criminal justice system has often been considered broken and unfair. According to the “ACLU of Ohio” they state, “The death penalty in America is a broken process from start to finish with a deeply disturbing and deeply flawed origin. In Ohio specifically, the death penalty has far more to do with geography, income, and race than anything resembling justice,” (Coming). This statement highlights how the death penalty does not aim to bring justice. The death penalty set upon you is based on your wealth, the location the crime happened, and race. These factors will be considered on if you are allowed to live or will sentenced to death. These external factors should not be considered when you are deciding someone’s life. In the same article Coming points out, “The death penalty is an act of retribution and plays no role in the restoration of justice. The death penalty is not about justice; it’s about vengeance.” This clearly exemplifies how the death penalty’s role is to not help society, but rather to inflict harm and torture on these individuals. Capital punishment has long misled the public into believing it brings justice and safety, when in reality, it causes far more harm than good.

Image by Amnesty International

    All things considered, abolishing the death penalty is necessary because it is a cruel practice, carries the danger of executing innocent people, and it fails to deter criminal activity. The death penalty is the most harmful capital punishment as it inflicts physical and psychological suffering that are irreversible. It is also an unreliable system as innocent individuals can be sentenced to death based on factors like their personal background rather than the crime itself. As a result, it fails to effectively deter crime and has never been proven to do so. Therefore, the death penalty should be abolished, and society must pursue fair and effective alternatives to achieve fair justice.

Works Cited

Roeder, Oliver, Lauren-Brooke Eisen, and Julia Bowling. “What Caused the Crime Decline?” Brennan Center for Justice, 2015, www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/what-caused-crime-decline.

Bedau, Hugo Adam. The Case Against the Death Penalty. ACLU, https://www.aclu.org/documents/case-against-death-penalty.

Constitution of the United States. U.S. Government Publishing Office, 1789.

Coming, Celina. “Reflections: The Death Penalty Is Not Justice. - ACLU of Ohio.” ACLU of Ohio, 17 Dec. 2022, www.acluohio.org/news/reflections-death-penalty-not-justice/.

Death Penalty Information Center. “Deterrence | Death Penalty Information Center.” Death Penalty Information Center, 12 Oct. 2017, deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/policy/deterrence.

FBI. “FBI Releases 2024 Reported Crimes in the Nation Statistics | Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2024, www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/fbi-releases-2024-reported-crimes-in-the-nation-statistics.

King, Martin Luther, et al. Where Do We Go from Here : Chaos or Community? Beacon Press, 2010. 

Richard J. Bonnie, Mental Illness, Severe Emotional Distress, and the Death Penalty: Reflections on the Tragic Case of Joe Giarratano, 73 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1445 (2016).