saved since that murderer cannot kill again. Scientific studies have failed to prove that executions deter other people from committing crime. According to Dr. Ernest van den Haag, a well-known scholar in favor of the death penalty, "one cannot claim that it has been proved statistically that the death penalty does deter more than alternative penalties" (Haag 338). However, Haag supports his stand on the death penalty by stating that, "when they have the choice between life and death, 99 percent of all prisoners under sentence of death prefer life in prison." This statistic proves nothing but the fact that man has an innate desire for survival. Those asked the question have already committed the crime and thus does not reflect the sentiment of those considering a crime. Also, people often kill when under great "emotional stress or under the influence of drugs or alcohol - times when they are not thinking of the consequences" (Death Penalty Focus). Career criminals and those that plan a crime do not expect to get caught, thus making the consequences an invalid issue. In response to the fact that a executed murderer will never kill again, society must ask itself whether it is morally and ethically acceptable to risk killing an innocent person when an alternative such as life imprisonment without possibility of parole exists. In California since 1978, more than 1,000 people have received this alternate sentence which includes no appeals process. The public can be assured that those who commit heinous murders and receive this sentence will never be free again. According to Death Penalty Focus, "a recent Field Poll showed support for the death penalty plummeted when alternative sentencing is available. Just 29 percent favored death over life without parole plus requiring the defendant to work in prison and give part of his earnings as restitution to the families of his victims." The use of capital punishment has endured throughout the ages,...
