Term Paper on "Death Penalty the United States"

Term Paper 5 pages (1676 words) Sources: 2 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Death Penalty

The United States is one of the only wealthy industrialized nations in the world that still practices capital punishment. The subject of innumerable debates and central in America's political discourse, the death penalty seems like a cruel and outdated method of punishment. In a judicial system that claims to be transparent, unbiased, and egalitarian, the death penalty stands out like a gross anomaly. The death penalty is not practiced in all 50 states but in some like Texas and Florida it is executed with relative frequency. Beyond the ethical issues that surround capital punishment, research suggests that the death penalty is not feasible financially and may even cost more than keeping that individual behind bars for life. Moreover, statistical analysis reveals a disturbing trend on death row: the majority of death row convicts are non-white. The death penalty is also brutally final. A number of wrongfully convicted individuals have been executed, with no chance for appeal. The United States should eliminate the death penalty for moral, financial, and practical purposes.

The costs associated with the death penalty are enormous and in most cases surpass those associated with non-death penalty cases. For example, in trial, death penalty cases "are estimated to generate roughly $470,000 in additional costs to the prosecution and defense over the cost of trying the same case as an aggravated murder without the death penalty and costs of $47,000 to $70,000 for court personnel," (Death Penalty Information Center). Similarly, death penalty appeals cost up to $100,000 more than non-death penalty cases for murder (Death Penalty Information Center). One anti-capital punishment organization claims that the death penalty costs taxpayers millions more than if life without parole were the alternative (Death Penalty Focus). In California, each execution has cost taxpayers an estimated $250 million based on all concurrent costs over the past several decades. Each death penalty case ends up costing an average of $1.26 million dollars, compared with $740,000 for non-death penalty ones (Death Penalty Information Center). The United States Attorney General devotes a whopping 15% of the office's entire budget to death penalty cases (Death Penalty Focus). Compared to non-death penalty cases in Kansas, capital punishment cases cost as much as 70% more (Amnesty International).

If the sheer numbers are not bad enough, death penalty cases are funneling funds from other and more valuable social services and services directly related to the justice system. For example, Amnesty International notes that drug treatment programs, mental health programs, crime prevention programs, and other government services are sacrificed to keep capital punishment in place. Capital punishment also costs the families of the victims untold sufferings and financial burdens associated with the trial, appeal, and issues related to funerals.

Furthermore, death penalty cases absorb so much time and court resources that other crimes ranging from rape to assault and battery are given less attention (Amnesty International). The reasons for the increased costs of death penalty cases are clear: attorneys spend more time on death penalty cases including lengthy and persistent appeals. Court time is taken up too, and while trials are ongoing, the individual is still in prison.

Death penalty cases are not just costly, they may be entirely unjust and even racially biased. Poor Americans do not have access to the caliber or extent of legal services that the wealthy can afford and therefore a disproportionate number of individuals who receive the death penalty might have received a lesser sentence if they were able to afford improved legal council. A disproportionate number of Americans living in poverty are minorities, which means also that a disproportionate number of death row inmates are not white. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) claims, "The color of a defendant and victim's skin plays a crucial and unacceptable role in deciding who receives the death penalty in America." Almost half of all executions and more than half of the inmates on death row are non-white (ACLU). Moreover, the ACLU claims that the victim's race has a bearing on whether or not the suspect will be tried for the death penalty: "white victims account for approximately one-half of all murder victims, 80% of all Capital cases involve white victims." In addition to ethnic minorities being more likely victims of state-sponsored execution, persons with physical or mental disabilities are also at greater risk of discrimination: a disproportionate number of executions are of the mentally ill (Robinson).

In federal death penalty cases, 73% of all prosecutions were against minorities and currently about 60% of federal case death row inmates are non-white (Death Penalty Information Center). The American military actually leads the way in prosecuting and executing minorities with 86% of death row inmates from military prosecutions being non-white (ACLU). Minorities may suffer from discrimination at every step of the legal process from arrest to execution: non-whites might be more likely to be victims of racial profiling, leading to a disproportionate number of minority arrests. Subsequently minorities may be more likely to be prosecuted for the heaviest crime, with the stiffest penalty possible asked for by the state. Especially if poor, the minority defendant is unlikely to afford good legal counsel, meaning that their chances of losing the trial is greater than if they were wealthier and white. Finally, minorities might be more likely than whites to be convicted and sentenced to death instead of life in prison because of biases among jurors or judges.

One of the most compelling reasons to eliminate the death penalty is the astounding number of wrongful convictions that occur. According to Robinson, "at least 350 people between 1900 and 1985 in America might have been innocent of the crime for which they were convicted, and could have been sentenced to death." A wrongful conviction can lead to an innocent individual being killed, something the United States should never tolerate for even one case. The existence of any wrongful convictions should signal the end to capital punishment in America.

The State of Florida has the dubious distinction of being the leader in wrongful convictions nationwide (Goering). Goering notes that since 1976, Florida has overturned 20 death row sentences indicating the potential for error is great. Moreover, "prosecutorial errors, lying by witnesses or confessions by others" account for most of the death row reversals, showing how the justice system is too flawed to play games with people's lives. Emerging genetic sciences and DNA testing is starting to be used as a means to make rightful convictions. Yet tough-on-crime politicians like Florida Governor Jeb Bush seem to be taking a step backwards by proposing fewer opportunities for appeals and a shorter window of opportunity to file them (Goering). Instead of disallowing death row inmates the chance to appeal, states should be doing more to ensure that they have the right person incarcerated. Requiring DNA testing and other hard scientific proof of crimes committed might be one way to balance the voice of those who oppose the death penalty with those who believe the death penalty is essential for preserving law and order.

Advocates of the death penalty cite any number of reasons for their position. Most of the reasons are emotional rather than logical, such as an ascription to the Biblical "eye for an eye" code of justice. Revenge and the desire to achieve retribution in the form of death is another pro-death penalty argument. Capital punishment is not, as is assumed, a proven deterrent to crime. In fact, some research shows that the states without the death penalty in place have a lower murder rate (Bonner and Fessenden 2000).

Countries like Canada refuse to extradite criminals to the United States because the death penalty is extant. With such strong international censure, the United States should reconsider its stance on capital punishment. When the state sanctions executions it risks its own integrity and sends awful… READ MORE

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