Online Piece

By: Jazmin Rodriguez

An eye for an eye

makes the whole world
blind..

-M. Gandhi

How long until we forget about the Death Penalty?

Burning someone at the stake

(2014). Tax payers in the

(Dieter, R. n.d.). I see this as a

or stoning someone is seen as

United States that are aware of

waste of time and money. There

completely inhumane in the 21st

the amount of money going into

is other places where that

century. How many decades

death row inmates are enraged.

money could go to.

must we wait to see any other

The money spent on these

form of capital punishment, such

inmates could be going to

as the death penalty, unjust as

another cause such as

well. How many lives need to

education.

expire before the government

Based on the research I have

conducted through the past 16
weeks I have concluded that

The thing about the death

there are some policy changes

penalty cases is that the trial

that I would like to see. In

must go on and must be paid for

Texas anyone over the age of

Along with all of the lives that

even if the person being

18 who commits a capital crime

are lost each year, millions of

accused is found not guilty. In

(e.g. murder during rape,

dollars are spent from the time

Texas, a death penalty case

treason, or arson) is eligible to

of the initial arrest to the time of

costs taxpayers an average of

receive the death penalty (Legal

execution. Forbes Magazine

$2.3 million, about three times

Information Institute [LII] n.d.).

quotes Donald McMartin Its 10

the cost of imprisoning someone

This is a policy I would like to

times more expensive to kill

in a single cell at the highest

see change in the next couple of

them than to keep them alive..

security level for 40 years

years. I think Texas could

realizes it is just as wrong as

murder?

benefit from saving money on

Lorem Ipsum

benefit from saving money on

death penalty cases and
making people over the age of
18 who commit a capital crime
only eligible for life in prison
sentences. . Changing this
would save money in different
places. The trials would be
shorter and would cut back on
expenses to pay those who
work the cases.

The lethal injection is the main

method of execution in the U.S.

More advocacy on the death

really help change the United

penalty could help voters

States and its judicial system.

abolish the death penalty.

Not only will lives be saved but

There are many people in the

there will also be millions of

United States that dont know

dollars that could be used for

much about the death penalty.

other purposes to help the US.

When I conducted personal

The country has at times

research I found that only four

seemed weaker because of the

out of ten people were

lack of funds in some

confident to explain what the

departments. With these policy

death penalty is (J. Rodriguez,

changes the country could

personal communication, Oct

even restore its spot on the

20, 2014). If my discourse

pedestal across many

community is anything like

departments.

yours, that means that less

than half of people that are
voting for our nations leaders
truly know what they are voting
for when the death penalty is
involved.
These policy changes could

References

Spring 2016, Issue 4

Anonymous. (2014, May 11). Considering The Death Penalty: Your Tax Dollars At Work.
Retrieved October 23, 2014, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/05/01/considering-the-death-penaltyyour-tax-dollars-at-work/

Dieter, R. (n.d.). The High Cost of the Death Penalty. Retrieved October 26, 2014, from
http://www.fnsa.org/v1n1/dieter1.html

Death Penalty. LII / Legal Information Institute. Legal Information Institute, n.d.
Web 25 Apr. 2014
Retrieved from:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/death_penalty
J. Rodriguez, personal communication, Oct 20, 2014.