Life is sacred. The majority of people in the state of Nebraska would agree to this. For this reason, taking the life of another has always been considered the most deplorable of crimes, one worthy of the harshest available punishment. Thus raises the question of the death penalty. The underlying question on this issue is if any kind of killing, regardless of reason, can be accepted. Furthermore, the possibility exists that an innocent man or woman may be put to death. One example that illustrates the possibility of a person being convicted of a crime that they did not do is Beverly Monroe’s oral history from The Voice of Witness Reader. Though Beverly was not put on death row, she was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced
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Every stage of a capital case is more time consuming and expensive than in a typical case. Cost incurred to administer the death penalty includes incarceration cost, trial cost, and an expensive appeals process. Almost all people facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney, so the state must assign them two public defenders, and pay for the costs of the prosecution as well. Experts will probably be needed on forensic evidence, mental health and the social history of the defendant. To minimize mistakes, every inmate is entitled to a series of appeals. The costs are borne at taxpayers ' expense. These appeals are essential because some inmates have been on death row when evidence was uncovered proving their innocence. There are also two trials instead of one, one for guilt and one for punishment. Each case can last up to several years. And while all of this is taking place, the inmates are held in a high security prison, so the state pays the cost of life imprisonment on top of the expensive trial. If the death penalty was replaced with life in prison without parole, which costs less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of executing innocent people, the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we
Every stage of a capital case is more time consuming and expensive than in a typical case. Cost incurred to administer the death penalty includes incarceration cost, trial cost, and an expensive appeals process. Almost all people facing the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney, so the state must assign them two public defenders, and pay for the costs of the prosecution as well. Experts will probably be needed on forensic evidence, mental health and the social history of the defendant. To minimize mistakes, every inmate is entitled to a series of appeals. The costs are borne at taxpayers ' expense. These appeals are essential because some inmates have been on death row when evidence was uncovered proving their innocence. There are also two trials instead of one, one for guilt and one for punishment. Each case can last up to several years. And while all of this is taking place, the inmates are held in a high security prison, so the state pays the cost of life imprisonment on top of the expensive trial. If the death penalty was replaced with life in prison without parole, which costs less and also ensures that the public is protected while eliminating the risk of executing innocent people, the money saved could be spent on programs that actually improve the communities in which we