Capital Punishment: Never Indulge the Desire for Retribution

Capital Punishment: Never Indulge the Desire for Retribution

The majority of American people strive to teach others important values such as the idea that "two wrongs do not make a right" and "an eye for and eye makes the whole world blind." The intention of the death penalty was to deter crime; however, exponential amounts of evidence prove that crime rates have not gone down since the institution of this cruel and unusual capital punishment. In addition to the failure of crime deterrence, execution costs much more than life in prison, and innocent people may be wrongly sentenced to death row. All of these reasons create a formidable sense of immoral action that should persuade individuals, as well as nations, to abolish capital punishment.

The belief that the death penalty "serves due justice" is all too common. There is never a justification for murder, which is the exact definition of capital punishment. Other reasons as to why the death penalty has yet to be abolished are superficial, eccentric, and unjust. Some believe that execution is not only a great way to ease the suffering of those who may have been harmed, but it also shows that we're tough on crime and surely "gets a bang for the taxpayer's buck" (Bedau). However, these excuses don't comply with the morals that America was founded based upon. The negative aspects of the death penalty far outweigh any and all pro death penalty arguments.

The quote, "I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent, and I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point" by Attorney General Janet Reno was a turning point for many of those who supported capital punishment (Donohue). Because such a respected and intelligent woman admitted to not being able to find any evidence supporting the belief that the death penalty deterred crime, people began to do their own research, only to come to the same conclusion. The idea that the death penalty deters crime is just that - an idea - not proven or supported by evidence. The United States' lack of experience with capital punishment has led to assumed conclusions that could not have been supported or proven false (Donohue). The reason that the death penalty tricks people into thinking that it would deter crime better than any other punishment is because death is what the common man fears the most; however, those who commit acts in order to receive such punishment, cannot be categorized with the common man, easily debunking the counter argument. Now that capital punishment has been reinstated since 1977, we have been able to gather enough evidence to come to a reasonable understanding. In light of semi-recently obtained evidence, it is now clear that the death penalty is not a deterrent and has too many risks and other negative factors to continue it's destructive path.

The death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison. These high costs pertain mostly to the complicated legal process. The Constitution requires a very complex judicial process for all capital cases that is needed in order to ensure that innocent men and woman are not executed for crimes they did not commit. Nevertheless, even with the existential precautions taken in the court system, the risk of executing an innocent human being is still much