At least 17,833 people are under sentence of death worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2010 (deathpenalty.procon.org). When thinking about the entire population of the world, this number seems small and unimportant; yet, if you consider this matter on a personal level, it becomes much more shocking. Many of these lives were wasted and their families lost a loved one due to the death penalty. The death penalty is a capital punishment where the government executes an inmate that has committed a capital offense. The death sentence for capital crimes should be taken into careful consideration and should be distributed less due to its high cost, bias towards other races and ethnic groups, violation of the 8th amendment, and the possibility of false accusations.
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For example, the death penalty requires an extended pre-trial time, more experts to be involved, twice as many attorneys, two trials instead of just one, and very high security for inmates held on death row (deathpenalty.procon.org). The amount of people needed for just a single inmate sentenced to death and the excessive time it takes to complete the procedure in its entirety seems unnecessary. There wouldn’t need to be any of these extra things if the government decided to distribute regular sentences, saving time and money. Another example of the high cost that comes with the death penalty is the cost comparison between the death penalty and life in prison. According to the same article, “Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty”, “The death penalty costs 3-10 times more than life in prison” (deathpenalty.procon.org). This statistic seems unproportionate, but when you think about all the other needs associated with the death penalty, it starts to make sense. The main way the death penalty is carried out is by lethal injection, and the combination of drugs and chemicals used to execute the inmate also come at a very high cost. The death penalty is a very complex procedure that requires many people to be involved, very high costs, and a lot of
For example, the death penalty requires an extended pre-trial time, more experts to be involved, twice as many attorneys, two trials instead of just one, and very high security for inmates held on death row (deathpenalty.procon.org). The amount of people needed for just a single inmate sentenced to death and the excessive time it takes to complete the procedure in its entirety seems unnecessary. There wouldn’t need to be any of these extra things if the government decided to distribute regular sentences, saving time and money. Another example of the high cost that comes with the death penalty is the cost comparison between the death penalty and life in prison. According to the same article, “Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty”, “The death penalty costs 3-10 times more than life in prison” (deathpenalty.procon.org). This statistic seems unproportionate, but when you think about all the other needs associated with the death penalty, it starts to make sense. The main way the death penalty is carried out is by lethal injection, and the combination of drugs and chemicals used to execute the inmate also come at a very high cost. The death penalty is a very complex procedure that requires many people to be involved, very high costs, and a lot of