Expunge The Death Penalty Essay

Expunge the Death Penalty

“To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice”, Desmond Tutu. The death penalty is one of the most violent punishments. Even though the death penalty rids society of the criminal forever, the death penalty can have many negative effects. The death penalty is more expensive than life in prison, does not deter murders, lowers the value of life, can be a product of racism, and people can be wrongfully convicted, without time to be proven innocent. The death penalty brings out heavy emotion, regardless of which way you believe. However, there are several reasons why punishments other than the death penalty should be used. The death penalty cost considerably more than other punishments. The evidence shows that the death penalty does not prevent the act of murder. There have also been multiple cases of innocent people being executed first and proven innocent later. The system has a disproportionate number of minorities who have been condemn to the death, which could easily be interpreted as a racial issue. Finally, putting a person to death, even if done by a government, lowers the value of life overall. Society does not need to have another …show more content…
However, studies have proven that the deterrent is low or does not exist at all. Murder rates in states with the death penalty are not lower than the rates of states without this form of punishment. Murder tends to be a crime of passion. This means that people who commit murder are not considering the consequences for themselves at the time of the murder. The thought that they will later be put to death for their crime is not a factor until they are on trial, sometimes years after the murder they committed. The government putting one person to death, hoping that someone else will consider that before they act rashly does not seem to be very