A Time for Change The death penalty has been around for a long time. The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. In the Tenth Century A.D., hanging became the usual method of execution in Britain. America 's use of the death penalty was influenced by Britain more than any other country, and the use of the death penalty continues today. However, even with its long history, capital punishment is slowly being abolished by different parts of the world, as it should. The death penalty should be ended for many reasons, but the main focal points are: the cost of keeping it alive, the innocent being wrongly committed, and the violation of human rights.
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“California taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each of the state’s 11 executions” (www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty). The death penalty is not the only way to keep justice and it would be less expensive to completely abolish it. “In California, the current system costs $137 million per year; it would cost $11.5 million for a system without the death penalty” (www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost/page.do?id=1101084). Money spent on the death penalty takes away resources from other state needs. The extra money spent on the death penalty could be spent on other means of achieving justice and making the community safer. “To any state, a million dollars spent today is a lot more costly than an equivalent amount paid gradually over 40 years” (www.nmrepeal.org/issues/cost). Some may argue that paying this large fee is worth it for deterring crime, but that is flaw. “The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. In 2006, the South again had the …show more content…
There is no true reason for the death penalty to still exist. Its tendency to convict the innocent of crimes they have not committed alone should be evidence enough to abolish it. If not, then its hefty cost in this economic shortcoming, and especially since it violates the United States Bill of Rights. It is a wonder why people have allowed for it to last this long without questioning, how many more people will be put to death by a government that considers itself the standard bearer of human
“California taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each of the state’s 11 executions” (www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty). The death penalty is not the only way to keep justice and it would be less expensive to completely abolish it. “In California, the current system costs $137 million per year; it would cost $11.5 million for a system without the death penalty” (www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost/page.do?id=1101084). Money spent on the death penalty takes away resources from other state needs. The extra money spent on the death penalty could be spent on other means of achieving justice and making the community safer. “To any state, a million dollars spent today is a lot more costly than an equivalent amount paid gradually over 40 years” (www.nmrepeal.org/issues/cost). Some may argue that paying this large fee is worth it for deterring crime, but that is flaw. “The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. In 2006, the South again had the …show more content…
There is no true reason for the death penalty to still exist. Its tendency to convict the innocent of crimes they have not committed alone should be evidence enough to abolish it. If not, then its hefty cost in this economic shortcoming, and especially since it violates the United States Bill of Rights. It is a wonder why people have allowed for it to last this long without questioning, how many more people will be put to death by a government that considers itself the standard bearer of human