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Death Penalty9 misc28

Death Penalty9 misc28 The death penalty is a tough debate and an overwhelming argument in this country. We as Americans put Timothy McVeigh to death by lethal injection just three months ago. Arguments can be made for and against the death penalty, but this is not the problem. Capital Punishment is supposed to be a deterrent to crime, but is the death penalty really a deterrent? Capital Punishment is not a deterrent for crime, and the effects of Capital Punishment are actually hurting the American citizens. Capital Punishment affects the American citizens by having those citizens pay millions of dollars for death row inmates, and these criminals affect those same citizens because the Death Penalty does not deter crime like it was intended for. Citizens across the United States pay a lot of money each year to sentence someone to death. These millions of dollars are being wasted on Capital Punishment while every state could be saving money by sentencing someone to life without parole. California alone spends over $90 million dollars annually on death-row inmates, while $78 million of that being spent at the trial level (Dieter). On September 9, 1999, The Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the California Legislature stated that, "Elimination of the death penalty would result in a net savings to the state of at least several tens of millions of dollars annually, and a net savings to local governments in the millions to tens of millions of dollars on a statewide basis." California is not the only state to spend millions of dollars on death row inmates, in Florida it costs an estimated $24 million dollars to kill one criminal (DPIC), and Florida has only had 44 executions since 1976. These numbers are not only alarming but at what point do we look at these statistics and stop this ridiculous policy on capital punishment? Americans could spend so much more money on more important things such as improving the schools around the nation or educating our children about drugs and other important issues, however, the governments of the United States are wasting the tax dollars of hard-working citizens, on a policy that isn’t effective. The Death Penalty is no longer a deterrent to crime, and that is affecting the citizens of the United States. Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said that she has yet to find any evidence that the death penalty deters crime. "I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent. And I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point," said Reno. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the South repeatedly has the highest murder rate. In 1999, it was the only region with a murder rate above the national rate, and the South accounts for 80% of all executions. The Northeast, which has less than 1% of all executions in the U.S., has the lowest murder rate (DPIC). These facts are undeniable and show that the death penalty does not deter crime. When comparisons are made between states with the death penalty and states without, the majority of death penalty states show murder rates higher than non-death penalty states. The average murder rates per 100,000 populations in 1999 among death penalty states was 5.5, whereas the average of murder rates among non-death penalty states was only 3.6 (DPIC). Whatever the reason, it is obvious that the states that enforce the death penalty are not deterring crime but actually increasing it. The supporters of the death penalty would argue that putting someone to death is actually showing other criminals that it is not worth doing the crime. They would also argue that the death penalty is a fair alternative to what these criminals have done to their victims and their victims’ families, however these arguments are all false and have no factual base at all. The statistics have already shown that the death penalty does not deter crime but actually has increased the murders in this country. Putting someone to death is not a way to make criminals realize what they have done wrong. The death penalty is just an easy way out of whatever crime you have committed. Capital Punishment is no longer an effective way of punishing criminals. The only people that the death penalty is affecting are the millions of taxpayers who work hard for their money. Their money is being spent on a policy that is no longer effective. The Death Penalty is a policy that is old and out-dated. If the original implementation of this policy was to deter crime then it has obviously lost its affect on criminals in our country. The statistics show that not only does the death penalty not deter crime, but that it actually increases it. The statistics also show that the citizens of the United States spend too much money on these criminals just so their sorry, miserable lives can end. America could spend those millions of dollars trying to help children grow up and realize that they can do something with their lives and that crime is not the way, but instead the United States are wasting money on death row inmates. Capital Punishment is a policy that is supposed to punish the criminals and not the innocent. This policy is not affecting the criminals; it is only affecting the innocent taxpayers who are paying millions of dollars to support a policy that does not work. Their money is supposed to be buying a safer life for themselves, but because Capital Punishment is not a deterrent for crime, their streets are even more dangerous because of this policy. Bibliography: Works Cited Death Penalty Information Center. Washington, D.C. 12 Dec. 1999. 15 October 2001. . Dieter, Richard. “Millions Misspent”. Death Penalty Information Center. Washington, D.C. Fall 1994. 15 June 2001. 15 October 2001. . Reno, Janet. “Weekly Briefing”. Reuters News Source. 21 January 2000. 15 October 2001. .

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