Capital Punishment In Prisons

Capital punishment is being used nationwide in prisons as a form of punishment for crimes. Capital punishment is a costly form of punishment. Small counties are having to spend a lot of money on death row executions that they cannot afford sending them into debt. Housing for death penalty inmates and their trials cost more than those of an inmate serving life in prison. Capital punishment costs about $125,500,000 more than life in prison without parole. Taxpayers money is going towards capital punishment when it could be putting toward more preventive measures like mental health services and education. Studies show people who receive an early education are less likely to commit a crime. Those with mental illnesses are more likely to commit …show more content…
That is a 221.2 million dollar difference and it is estimated that it will only increase from there. By the year 2021 the price is estimated to go up by at least 95.7 million dollars. The housing of inmates sentenced to the death penalty costs double the amount of an inmate sentenced to life in prison. “ Felons sentenced to life in prison may eventually be placed in the general population, but death row inmates are virtually always housed in administrative segregation, or solitary confinement, which costs more per day due to heightened security. A 2014 study out of Kansas reported that a death row prisoner costs $49,380 to house per year, whereas a general population prisoner costs $24,690,” (“Six Reasons”, 2016). Individual death penalty cases cost taxpayers an average of 2.3 million dollars which is about 3 times more than life in prison. Instead of putting taxpayers money towards capital punishment when there is no evidence that shows it deters criminals from committing a crime it should be put towards other facilities that prevent young adults from engaging in criminal activity in the future. “Children who receive early education are less likely to become criminals, which not only benefits society, but also saves the state money,” (“Cost”, n.d). Putting taxpayers money towards education lowers the chance of juveniles committing …show more content…
Deterrence defined is a thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something. An average of 35 people are killed per year due to being capitally punished but crime rates continue to rise. There is no evidence that verifies that the application of capital punishment deters criminals from committing a crime. However the opposite is quite common in states in america that participate in capital punishment. These states that participate in capital punishment have a higher homicide rate versus states nearby that do not. “During the moratorium on capital punishment, from 1967 to 1976, the national homicide rate nearly doubled,” (“Industries”, n.d). Applying capital punishment is causing crime rates to double increasing the money spent in the long