Wrote on: November 30th, 2009
Defending the Death Penalty
The Death Penalty, also known as “Capital Punishment,” is the process by which convicted criminals are executed by a governing authority (Issit 1.) Within the United States America
Capital Punishment is needed to save innocent American lives. Capital punishment produces a strong deterrent effect that saves lives. Between 1977 to 1996, Professors Hashem Dezhbakhsh, Paul R. Rubin, and Joanna M. Shepherd found in a study that in over 3000 counties each execution, on average, resulted in 18 fewer murders (David 2.) Between 1960 to 2000 executions and murder incidents could be and were compared before, during, and after the U.S. Supreme Court’s death penalty moratorium. It was found that executions had a highly significant negative relationship with murder incidents (David 2.) Criminals are no different from law-abiding people who make their own decisions by their own self interest, so an increase in the risk of apprehension and punishment for crime will deter individuals from committing crime. Furthermore, in a 2006 Gallup
The opposers of the Death Penalty bring up that minorities are treated unfairly. According to Professor Berk’s re-analysis in 2005, he states that for both capital charges and death sentences, race either played no role or a small role that is very difficult to specify (David 2.) It is very difficult to find convincing evidence for racism. “Race may have a small influence because cases with a black defendant and white victim or other racial combination are less likely to have a death sentence’” (David 2.) The decisions to seek the death penalty are driven by characteristics of crimes rather than by race, as it should be. There is little evidence to suggest that minorities are treated unfairly.
Also, opposers of the Death Penalty add that innocent men could be executed. The fear of accidentally executing an innocent person is a valid concern. However, less than half of all individuals are actually declared innocent of their crimes; most are released on technicalities (Bowman 1.) Out of the 6930 inmates on death row in the U.S. between 1973 and 2000, only 34 were released with claims of actual innocence which represents less than .5% of death penalty cases – hardly enough to justify claims that capital punishment is unfair and in any serious danger of claiming innocent victims (Bowman 1.) In 2004, Congress ruled that all inmates on death row are eligible to receive further investigation when DNA evidence is available, in order to prevent the execution of a wrongly convicted innocent (Issit 3.) States cannot carry out an execution until an extensive review of the case has been conducted. The chances of an innocent being executed are extremely small.
If all else fails, some states even commute the death sentence. Commuting death sentences is deadly and dangerous. It gives hope and encourages terrible crime to the criminals outside and inside the jail bars. For each additional execution, on average, according to a state-level data from 1977 to 1997, about five murders were deterred (David 2.) Unfortunately, for each commutation, on average, five additional murders resulted (David 2.) A removal from death row is associated with an increase of at least one additional murder. To further support the deterrence effect of capital punishment, Paul R. Zimmerman conducted 2 studies. He found that each additional execution, on average, resulted in 14 fewer murders (David 3.) In his second study, he found that executions by electrocution are the most effective deterrent (David 3.) Each additional execution appears to deter between 3 and 18 murders. Commuted sentences and death row removals appear to increase the incidence of murder and crime.
The opponents of capital punishment will face an internal struggle of morality. If each execution is saving lives, the harms of the death penalty would have to be extraordinary to justify its cause.
Justice is only achieved when a crime is met with the proper punishment. Each execution is associated with at least three fewer murders which includes both crimes of passion and murders by intimates. Executions deter the murder of whites and African-Americans alike, and there is little to no evidence to suggest that minorities are treated unfairly. Shorter waits on death row are associated with increased deterrence and a life is saved. Capital Punishment ensures that murderers never murder again, and provides justice for murder victims and their families.
Reference Page
Bonnie Szumski, Helen Cothran, and Scott Barbour. The Death Penalty. Thomas Gale: Farming on Hills, 2006.
Bowman, Jeffrey, and Tracey M. DiLascio. “Counter point: Crime and Punishment.” Points of view: Death Penalty (2007): 3. Points of View Reference Center
Cass R. Sunstein, and Adrian Vermeule. Capital Punishment Is Moral to Prevent the Taking of Innocent Lives. Current Controversies: Capital Punishment. Ed. Paul Connors. Detroit
David B. Muhlhausen. The Death Penalty Should Not Be Abolished. Opposing Veiwpoints: Criminal Justice. Ed. David M. Haugen. Detroit
D. J. Herda. Furman vs. Georgia
Issit, Micha L. “Death Penalty: An Overview.” Points of View: Death Penalty (2007): 1. Points of View Reference Center
Nancy Day. The Death Penalty for Teens. Enslow Publishers, inc. 2000.
Roger Smith. Prisoners on Death Row. Mason Crest Publishers. 2007
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