Arguments Against Death Penalty Research

Many arguments against the death penalty are discussed in detail in this article. One of the arguments is that capital punishment doesn’t deter crime and in cases even caused capital offenses like murder to happen. It is thought that by having the death penalty for the most serious crimes like murder will deter others from murdering people which is an example of general deterrence. But the truth is it doesn’t deter crime and if it has then why has it not been covered in the news. Examples were given point this out perfectly like a man killed a couple for their money and didn’t stop to think he might get the death penalty. And then on the other end of the spectrum some kids murdered cops because they thought they were being pulled over for another crime committed that they were under the belief was a capital offense. Studies have shown that it is not deterring crime but also murder rates are higher on states with the death penalty than those that don’t. …show more content…
The capital punishment is so much more expensive than non-capital punishment alternatives such as life in prison. Many studies have proved this such as one done in 1993 that showed that the capital cases cost $2.2 million more than non-capital cases and in 2008 was still 1.9 million more. It is noted in the article that murder trials in states with capital punishment cost at least twice more than states without it. These studies just show costs dealing with the cases and don’t reflect the cost of the death penalty itself but death penalty brings additional costs. And by all of this money going towards capital punishment it takes away from other areas like roads, schools and emergency