Well here it is without edits. Please tear it apart--I want to accurately represent the pro DP side even if it makes my side unconvincing.
Anonymous
Professor...
English 111
9 November 2008
The Death Penalty: Too Costly for Americans
One of the earliest lessons that we learn in life is that two wrongs do not make a right. Why is it then, that over fifty percent of the population in the United States approves of execution as punishment for murder? Most people support capital punishment without understanding its social and economic impact. They believe it is a just and effective solution to a problem. Unfortunately due to the cost of executions and the flawed legal system, there are few solid merits to capital punishment.
There are 37 states within the US that still practice the death penalty. They can use the gas chamber, hanging, firing squad, electrocution, or lethal injection. However, in recent history lethal injection and electrocution have been favored almost exclusively. According to statistics provided by the American Friends Service Committee, since 1976 there have been more than 1000 executions. The number of executions peaked in 1999 during which the states collectively executed 98 persons. In 2005, the Supreme court ruled that executing for a crime that was committed while the offender was under eighteen is inhumane. Before the ruling, 150 of such cases ended in the death penalty, and significantly, two out of three of the convicts were of color ("The Basics . . .").
Surprisingly, most people support the death penalty using their religion as justification. For a Christian this is inconsistant because no matter which priest, pope, or passage cited, there is inevitably a dichotomy provided by the Sixth Commandment, “though shalt not kill”. Similarly, the first of the five precepts to Buddhism is, “ I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking life”. Judaism commends Capital punishment but in all cases requires that there be at least two witnesses who are so certain that they are willing to face death themselves if they give false testimony (Polish).
Some basic statistics refute the deterrent effect of capital punishment. In the thirteen states that have abolished the death penalty, the average 2007 homicide rate for every one hundred thousand people is only 3.1. Compare that to the average 2007 murder rate for the thirty-seven states that still have the death penalty, which is 5.5 for every one hundred thousand. Citing this example would make debunking the claimed deterrent effect of capitol punishment upon criminals easy, but for the contradictory evidence such as the following (“Nationwide Murder Rates”).
Although murder rates are lower in the states without capitol punishment, states are socially different, and in fairness, an example from the Houston area should be noted. The Pro Death Penalty Web Page states: "Within Texas, the most aggressive death penalty prosecutions are in Harris County (the Houston area). Since the resumption of executions in 1982, the annual number of Harris County murders has plummeted from 701 to 241 -- a 72 percent decrease" (Lowe). Whether or not the executions actually saved innocent lives is debatable, and alternative social remedies are probably more effective and certainly more humane.
Executions and the legal process that they require are phenomenally expensive. The average amount of money spent on a case resulting in the death penalty versus a case resulting in a sentence of life without parole is over 2 million dollars more. Florida estimates that it spends at least 50 million more on capital punishment cases per year than it would if they were cases of life without parole.
Richard Dieter, the administrator of DeathPenaltyInfo.org, presents information from “A new national survey of police chiefs from around the country [which] discredits the repeated assertion that the death penalty is an important law enforcement tool”. Law enforcement chiefs state that “sentencing reform . . . development of family values and parenting skills…[and] education” have the largest impact upon violent crime, while the death penalty has the smallest. (Dieter). Clearly the nation must focus its intention towards social issues.
The case of Dominique Green really illustrates the futility of capital punishment and demonstrates the need to teach family values. After spending ten years on death row for the alleged murder of a convenience store owner, Dominique Green died by lethal injection on the 26 of October 2004. In an interview before his death, Green talks about his childhood. In his early teens, he had to take care of his two younger brothers. Green details one time when his drunken mother pulled a gun on him. He had been talking back at her and she had threatened to kill him. His mother actually pulled the trigger, and when the gun jammed, she pulled it two more times. In and interview by Bill Moyers with Thomas Cahill, a man who spent a considerable amount of time talking with Green before his death, Cahill states “He came from an alcoholic drug-using household. He was sexually abused several times. He was put in juvenile homes. He was-- just about everything that could be done to him that anyone could imagine being done to a child, was done to him” (Cahill).
In addition, in his interview, Cahill explains that Dominique Green’s guilt in the case is questionable. The incident involved four kids, one of which is white. The other two turned on Green, probably so they would not face death row. The white kid disappeared. He had inadequate representation and the judge he faced had no concern for Green, earlier he was quoted saying “the Constitution gives you the right to a lawyer. It doesn't say whether he has to be awake or not”. The victim’s wife asked for clemency in the case, as did Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Cahill).
It is likely that Dominique Green faced an extra tough prosecution because of his race. This is the case with many minority defendants, because the sentencing system that they face is flawed and racist. For example, the members New Jersey Supreme Court said their findings on race and the death penalty were “disturbing” (“Race and the Death penalty”). Also, a study presented in the American Sociological Review shows that, “blacks who kill whites are more than twice as likely to be executed than whites that kill minorities.” This included the seven states that have executed the most since 1976 (“Study Finds Blacks . . .”).
Some people may argue that the minorities simply commit worse crimes, other people may assert that in order to eliminate racism, the government shall apply the death penalty to all capital cases. This is feasible if one does not care about the results. There will be enormous cost to the government. If human life is not held as sacred, the number of innocents executed will increase at least proportionately with the number of executions.
In order to solve violent crime (specifically homicide) in the United States, the nation must think critically and instead of punishing the product, must combat the roots of the problem. As we can see in Dominique Green’s case, environment strongly effects kids. I listened to an interview with Dominique Green as he sat waiting on death row. his benevolence, acceptance, and personality impressed me. One can only imagine what accomplishments he could have made if he had not had such a profoundly disturbed childhood. Instead of making more misery out of already tragic cases, the government should spend the excess money saved on capital punishment on social programs that aim at preventing circumstances like Green’s.
Works Cited
Cahill, Thomas. “Bill Moyers Talks With Thomas Cahill.” Bill Moyers Journal.
(2007): <http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11092007/transcript2.html>
Dieter, Richard. "On the Front Line: Law Enforcement Views on the Death Penalty." DeathPenaltyInfor.org. Death Penalty Information Center. 13 Nov 2008 <
deathpenaltyinfo.org/front-line-law-enforcement-views-death-penaltyGreen, Dominique. Interview. Bill Moyers Journal. PBS. 28 Dec 2007.
10 Nov 2008 <http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/12282007/watch3.html>
Lowe, Wesly. "Pro Death Penalty Web Page." wesleylowe.com. 5 Nov 2008.
13 Nov 2008 <http://www.wesleylowe.com/cp.html>.
"Nationwide Murder Rates." DeathPenaltyInfor.org. Death Penalty Information Center. 13 Nov 2008. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-1996-2007>.
Polish, Dan. "Judaism and the Death Penalty." tikkun.org. 01 Dec 2005.
9 Nov 2008 <http://files.tikkun.org/current/article.php?story=20061028122919597>.
"Race and the Death Penalty." DeathPenaltyInfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center. 23 Nov 2008 <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-death-penalty>.
Rubac, Gloria. "Racism, Resistance and the Death Penalty." Workers World.
10 May 2007.
10 Nov 2008 <http://www.workers.org/2007/us/death-penalty-0517/>.
"Study Finds Blacks and Hispanics Who Kill Whites are Nearly Twice as Likely to Face Execution." DiversityJobs.com. 2 Aug 2007. 23 Nov 2008 <http://blog.diversityjobs.com/Blacks-and-Hispanics-Who-Kill-Whites-Twice-as-Likely-to-Face-Execution>.
"The Basics . . .[sic]." afsc.org. American Friends Service Committee. 9 Nov 2008 <http://www.afsc.org/connecticut/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/58463>.
Thank you,
Ace,
12th grade