Death Penalty And Crime Essay

How does the death penalty apply positively and negatively towards the overall deterrence of crime?
Many states have had some type of death penalty before. Some states still have them today and others have ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. As noted from the video, the death penalty has changed over time; it has gone from hanging to the electric chair to, what is most used today, lethal injection. In my opinion, the death penalty can apply positively to deterrence of crime because it can make people afraid of committing a serious crime. Some people do not care about being in prison, therefore as long as they do not get the death penalty they are okay with prison. It can also stop people from committing a crime because they might think twice about committing the crime since there is a chance they can get the death penalty and die. Another way that the death penalty can affect crime deterrence positively is that …show more content…
Some people might think it is bad that the correction system is a business but in my opinion it is not a bad thing because in order to hold all these inmates it cost a lot of money. So by making inmates work I do not think it is a bad thing. The United States has the most inmates in the world, so in order to maintain our prisons and jails we have to look at it like a business. Another thing that they discussed in the video is the H-Unit, which houses the serious and violent offenders. Some people think that the way they treat these people is cruel and unusual punishment but to me it is not. These people have hurt lots of people and can be very dangerous. We do not want these people out with other people because they could hurt them and cause trouble. The New Gulag documentary was very informative on how prison and jails work and what inmates do, like the group that goes out and picks up trash on the side of the road with chains attached to their