g numbers, leaving other areas unattended. Another alternative would be to reinstate the mandatory death sentences for specific crimes, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1976. If mandatory minimums and 3 strikes are constitutional and are used for offenses such as drugs, which are relatively minor to crimes such as murder, than maybe mandatory death sentences should be given a second look. Imposition of the death penalty is extremely rare. Since 1967, there has been one execution for every 1600 murders, or .006%. As the New York Times noted in 1994, even if U. S. executions were multiplied by a factor of 10, the would still constitute an infinitesimal element of criminal justice (www.cpa). There have been approximately 500,000 murders and 358 executions from 1967- 1996. Mandatory death sentences would cut down severely on crime and cost. Mandatory death sentences would be more effective if there was also a limit on the number of appeals which someone on death row was entitled to. The average inmate on death row is there for approximately 10 years (www.prodeathpenalty), racking up countless appeals, which are extremely expensive. These appeals, on top of incarceration costs, make the death penalty as expensive as it is. Although appeals are a mandate for those on death row in order to cut down on the risk of executing the innocent, a limit of perhaps 6 or 7 years should probably do the trick.The most popular alternative is, morally and financially, is life without parole. This is shown to be cheaper than execution. Although, as previously mentioned, the numbers can be fudged somewhat to attain a certain favorable appearance. In a 1993 survey, it was reported that most Americans would oppose the death penalty if convicted murderers were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole under any conditions. Life without parole is the alternative which is most accepted internationally. Today, either by...
