Frattini 1

Mark Frattini
Mr. Burchett
Honors Government 5
19 October 2015
Research Paper
From the time of its inception, the use of death as a punishment had been a heavily
debated topic. Since 1976, the most common method has been lethal injection. During that time
period, 9 states have abolished the death penalty. The main controversies over the issue relate to
whether or not the use of the death penalty is a cruel or unusual punishment and whether or not it
is morally right. However, there are several other aspects of the issue that are rarely brought up.
The use of the death penalty should be banned because it is too expensive, fails to deter criminal
activity, and is irreversible once it is carried out.
Although it seems as if killing a prisoner rather than paying for them to be in jail for the
rest of their life would be cheaper, that is not the case. This is especially true in the state of
California, which boasts the largest population in the country. Changing death sentences to lifewithout-parole sentences would save California $170 million per year (California). By sparing
the lives of those who are convicted to death, the state would save a large amount of money. In
addition to this, the money could be used in other areas to help balance the state budget.
Unfortunately, California isnt the only state who spends an exorbitant amount on the death
penalty. In the state of Maryland, the cost of death penalty cases is three times higher than the
cost of non-death penalty cases(The Cost). Just like in the state of California, Maryland also
spends a large portion of its budget on the death penalty. The high costs stems from the lengthy
appeals process, which often consists of several trials. During these trials, the state must pay for
all of the expenses that are incurred which build up very quickly. The high cost of carrying out
the penalty of death is just one of the reasons why it should no longer be used.
In addition to being too expensive, the death penalty fails to deter criminal activity. One
of the oldest defenses of using death as punishment is that it deters criminals from committing

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crimes. The logic behind this argument is that because someone knows that they could possibly
die as punishment for a murder, they will be less likely to carry out the crime of murder.
However, statistics show that this logic has no merit. 88.2% of polled criminologists do not
believe that the death penalty is a deterrent (Does the). Contrary to any proposed defenses,
the overwhelming majority of criminologists polled did not believe that the death penalty
deterred criminal activity. In addition to criminal experts failing to think that the death penalty
deters crimes, the murder rates of the United States also do so. States without the death penalty
have had consistently lower murder rates (Death Penalty Focus). For whatever reason, states
that allow for the use of the death penalty tend to have higher murder rates than states that have
banned the death penalty. This may be because states with higher murder rates incorrectly
believe that the death penalty will help to lower them. In any case, the statistical evidence clearly
shows that the death penalty does not deter murder. This is just the second reason why the use of
the death penalty should be banned.
In addition to being very expensive and failing to deter crime, the death penalty is also
tragically irreversible. Unlike other sentences that can be changed when new evidence is brought
to light, there is nothing that can be done after someone is put to death. While it may seem like
this happens rarely, the possibility still exists that someone could be put to death for a crime that
they did not commit. Since 1973, 151 people have been released from death row due to being
exonerated (Death Penalty and Innocence). Fortunately, these 151 people were able to be
proven innocent before their time was up. Although it appears that this wouldnt be a problem, it
has been before. Unfortunately, there have been many people who were not as lucky. A 1993
House of Representatives report found 48 instances over the 2 previous decades in which
innocent people were sentences to death (Mitchell 136). If being wrongly convicted of a crime
and having to spend time on death row before being found innocent seems terrifying, there are

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no words to describe being put to death for a crime you did not commit. Unlike other
punishments in our justice system, death cant be taken back. Even though these three reasons
seem like more than enough to justify banning the use of the death penalty, some people still
support the use of it in our country.
Although the evidence previously stated clearly shows why the death penalty
should no longer be used, some believe that it should continue to be used because it is not a cruel
or unusual punishment and our criminal justice system sentences people to death fairly.
However, neither of these beliefs is true. Defending the death penalty because one does not think
it is a cruel or unusual punishment fails because there is always a chance that it may be a cruel or
unusual punishment. a federal court ruled that Californias mode of lethal injection carried a
risk that an inmate will suffer pain so extreme that it should be considered cruel and unusual
(Cruel and Unusual). Due to the way that the death penalty is often carried out, there is no way
of ensuring that a prisoner will not have to endure pain prior to dying. Attempting to defend the
use of the death penalty by believing that our criminal justice system sentences people to death
fails because statistics prove this to be false. Over 75% of the murder victims in cases resulting
in an execution were white, even though nationally only 50% of murder victims generally are
white (Facts). Unfortunately, the death sentence largely depends on factors such as the race of
the victim and the race of the killer. Because of biases such as this, the criminal justice system
can never truly be fair. While some choose to defend the death penalty with these arguments,
they simply have no standing.
In closure, the use of the death penalty should no longer be allowed as it costs too much
money to carry out, does nothing to prevent future crime, and has no way of being reversed if
needed. No longer using the death penalty would go a long way towards balancing our budget,
end the discussion of it being a deterrent to crime, and ensure that no one else has to endure the

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torture of be sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. Because of all of these reasons,
the death penalty must be banned to ensure the purity of the United States.

Works Cited
Alarcon, Arthur, and Paula Mitchell. "California Cost Study 2011." California Cost Study 2011.
Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/california-cost-study-2011>.
"Cruel and Unusual." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 26 July 2014. Web. 17 Sept.
2015. <http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21608773-judge-strikes-blowagainst-capital-punishment-cruel-and-unusual>.
"Death Penalty and Innocence." Amnesty International USA. Amnesty International, n.d. Web.
17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-deathpenalty-facts/death-penalty-and-innocence>.
"Death Penalty Focus: Deterrence." Death Penalty Focus: Deterrence. Death Penalty Focus, n.d.
Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=82>.
Facts about the Death Penalty. Washington, DC: Death Penalty Information Center, 1999.
Deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Info. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf>.

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Radelet, Michael. "Does the Death Penalty Deter Crime? - Death Penalty - ProCon.org."
ProConorg Headlines. Pro, 13 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
<http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000983>.
Roman, John. "The Cost of the Death Penalty in Maryland." The Cost of the Death Penalty in
Maryland. Urban Institute, 6 Mar. 2008. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.urban.org/research/publication/cost-death-penalty-maryland>.
Mitchell, Hayley R. The Death Penalty. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2001. Print.