Is The Death Penalty Justified

“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.” J.R.R. Tolkien. Though recent public opinion polls show a wide range of support for capital punishment, human rights advocates and civil libertarians relentlessly criticize the immorality of government-sanctioned executions in the United States, the single western industrialized country that proceeds to use the death penalty. Capital punishment is an exceptionally controversial subject to the American society. Is capital punishment justified? The answer to one of the most disputed criminal justice questions is no, capital punishment is unjustified by all means. The death penalty is expensive, may endanger innocent lives, does not deter crime, can be discriminatory, and is inhumane. Capital punishment is unjustified in the fact that taxpayers are forced to pay double, while life without parole is a much more justified option. Enforcing the death penalty on an inmate costs twice as much as a life sentence. According to DPIC, (Death Penalty Information Center) , cases without the death penalty cost $740,000, while cases where the death penalty is sought cost $1.26 million. The figures convey that maintaining each death row inmate winds up costing …show more content…
They purposefully commit the crime so that they are sentenced to death and executed, but seemingly made the decision to be killed by themselves before even being handed the verdict. Daniel Cowell in 1996 decided that he couldn’t kill himself and rather would die at the hands of the state of Georgia, so he picked a couple in a parking lot and killed them and was later executed but basically took his own life. This is also a reason why capital punishment does not deter crime, a small portion of the reason but a plausible one