The Alternative For Death Penalty Essay Research — страница 2

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and murder implies motive and intent or premeditation. With respect to theses definitions, execution is a premeditated event which deprives the accused of his/her life. Therefore, execution is as unrighteous and unjustified as the act of murder itself. Despite the detrimental errors of the U.S. justice system, the death penalty remains in effect and is costing citizens hundreds of millions of dollars. California has undergone an economic recession and many social programs have had to be cut, but the state ?continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the death penalty? (Bedau 408). And between 1977 and 1995, 18 years, California has experienced two executions by lethal injection (United States Department of Justice 16). How much longer will the death penalty be enforced

before the federal and state governments realize that it is becoming ?unmanageably expensive? to fund capital cases (Bedau 409)? Financial resources in the U.S. are becoming more and more limited and sparse, yet state governments continue to uphold death cases at the request of politicians? ? get tough? proposals. But politicians neglect to recognize the exorbitant amount of money that the death penalty is costing tax payers (Bedau 405). With more death row inmates than any other state, Texas is experiencing the financial burden of the death penalty, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone at the highest security level in a single cell for 40 years (Bedau 402). Though some authorities are recognizing that the money used for the death penalty trials ? could be better

used for additional penitentiary space, rehabilitation efforts, education, and to devote time and attention to juveniles? (Bedau 404). The death penalty is burdening the financial resources for many social programs, including the funding for more police officers and a more functional criminal justice and correctional system. If most everyone can agree that killing others is wrong, then why is the United States undergoing a national debate about the death penalty? The public cannot agree on the effectiveness of the capital punishment laws in the United States. Supporters believe that it is an effective form of punishment as well as a societal defense against offenders and is also cost friendly to the national economy (Montague). On the other hand, abolitionists fear for the lives

of innocent victims that are being lost at the stake of ?justice?. Furthermore, proponents have discovered that the death penalty does not deter crime, but is a more costly alternative to life imprisonment. Though both sides are in favor for punishing criminal behavior, each side has differing beliefs about what is best for the general welfare of the nation. The U.S. justice system is central to the debate because many question the lawfulness and legality of the death penalty. Numerous studies have found the death penalty to be discriminatory and arbitrary. Discrimination and arbitrariness can easily be found in the application of the death penalty. Defendants in capital cases are, for instance, generally poor persons living on the margins of society, and they often receive poor

legal representation that is usually appointed by the courts. Court-appointed counsel receive only a few thousands of dollars from the state to fight the ?ultimate penalty? (Stewart 52). On the other hand, a more financially secure defendant could afford the expertise necessary for proper investigations and expert witnesses to provide him/her self with a strong case. Indigent defendants therefore are at a disadvantage to the courts with court-appointed counsel because they usually receive less the adequate representation. A lot of the defendant?s counsel are overworked, underpaid and inexperienced. Despite the differences in representation, there is also discrimination and arbitrariness in deciding who receives and does not receive the death penalty. The decision remains

arbitrary. Some are convicted before juries can decide whether or not to impose the death penalty, while others accused are charged with capital murders from the beginning (Barkan 526). Throughout the nation, it is clear, that ?defendants accused of similar murders are treated differently for no logical reasons. Some are charged with capital murders, while others are not. Some receive sentences of the death penalty, while others do not. Researchers in this area conclude that ?the capital punishment process is akin to a lottery system and that being sentenced to death is the result of a process that may be no more rational than being struck by lightening (Barkan 527). There are race, class, and gender disparities in the sentencing of capital cases. A greater percentage of men than