Death penalty, also known as capital punishment is a legal process where the state sends a death row

inmate to execution as a punishment for a grave offense committed. Although not all crimes are
punishable by death, there are strong opinions shared by both pro-death penalty and anti-death penalty
supporters.

In some countries, it is still practiced while in the United States, it has been abolished in some s and still
observed in several states. Whether it should be carried out or not has been a long standing argument
between the two parties.

List of Pros of Death Penalty

1. Death penalty costs the government less as opposed to life imprisonment without parole.

Proponents say despite expenses incurred by the government from imposing capital punishment, death
penalty is still cheaper compared to the costs of life without parole. Although there is no contention that
the cost of the former is high, life imprisonment is accumulatively higher given the expenses for food,
health care and other costs of sustaining the lives of incarcerated individuals serving life.

2. It deters would-be criminals to commit felonies.

Advocates of death penalty cite examples on how imposing the death sentence or abolishing it have
affected crime rate. According to a study conducted in the late 1960’s, there was a 7% crime rate
increase on the years when this law was abolished. On the other hand, fewer crimes were committed
with the increase in number of inmates in the death row who were executed each year. Proponents say
that these figures clearly indicate the efficacy of capital punishment on deterring crimes.

3. The absence of death penalty is synonymous to crime rate increase.

As reported by time magazine, an estimated 2,000,000 people in the United States have been victims of
crimes, from assault to murder. With insufficient laws to address this problem or the lack of teeth in
these laws, criminals become careless and bolder to commit heinous crimes because of the leniency in
punishments and loop holes in the justice system. For these reason, there is a need for death penalty.

4. It is constitutional and does not violate the Eight Amendment which prohibits the federal government
from imposing excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishments, including torture.

Advocates of death penalty say that the pain associated with the execution of a death row inmate is not
improbable. Even the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Eight Amendment challenge which stated
that the drug used to render the criminal coma-like unconscious before injecting the lethal drug is not
capable to do so completely. The Supreme Court was firm on its stand that any method of execution
definitely will inflict some pain and states with capital punishment have already adopted more humane
methods to carry out executions.

5. Death penalty is a just punishment for crimes committed against the rights to life, freedom and safety
of victims.

It is the right of an individual to live peacefully and be free from harm. Unfortunately, crimes like
murder, rape and assault are committed by perpetrators who have no regard for life and property of
others. Since they violate other people’s lives, it is but fair that they are brought to justice and suffer the
fate they rightfully deserve. People who are for capital punishment also talk about free will wherein an
individual is given the right to do things in his or her own volition and he or she is responsible for his or
her own fate.

List of Cons of Death Penalty

1. Innocent people are wrongly executed.

One of the arguments of opponents of death penalty is the inevitability of sending innocent people who
are wrongly accused to death row and eventually execution. The sad thing about this, according to those
who are opposed is that innocence is proven after the execution has been carried out.

2. In relation to free will, some criminals are suffering from mental illness or are having clouded
judgment at the time of the crime.

Opponents contend that there are instances where people commit pre-meditated crimes and are aware
of what they are doing. However, it does not discount the fact that crimes can also be committed out of
passion or extreme anger triggered by a situation which makes an offender act on impulse. There are
also those who are suffering from mental illnesses and are not taking medication which can lead to
them committing offenses they have no control of.

3. It is an added cost to the government and taxpayers’ money.

With the argument that life imprisonment with no parole is more expensive, opponents say that in
general, the government spends more taxpayers’ money in handling cases of death row inmates. This is
due to the length and complexity of trials, the number or defenders to be hired and the overall process.
They contend that there are two trials the state will spend for. One is for the verdict and another for the
sentencing, not including the number of appeals that will be submitted while keeping the convicted
prisoner inside maximum security.

4. Death penalty is a form of revenge.

While proponents say that imposing capital punishment is a form of retribution, that is, to punish who
has committed a crime, opponents argue that it is revenge. For the latter, to avenge a crime committed
to another individual may be understandable but killing someone for murdering another person is also
unconstitutional. It is crime in itself that is only masked by the term capital punishment and in truth,
only continues the series of violence.

5. It is a platform that is anti-poor and discriminatory.

Those who are death row inmates and sentenced to death are mostly based on racial discrimination as
evidenced by a high percentage of inmates being African-American and members of the minority.
Moreover, accused individuals who are poor are mostly the ones who get the death penalty for the
reason that they lack the finances to seek for great and powerful defense attorneys. They don’t have the
money to pay for good defense.

Conclusion

With the disparate views pointed out by proponents and opponents of death penalty, deciding on which
group was able to prove a more logical perspective on the issue can be challenging. Legislators should
consider all the issues presented by the public and listen to what they have to say. In a nutshell, they
should let the voice of the people be heard.

Death Penalty Pros

 It deters criminals from committing serious crimes. Common sense tells us that the most
frightening thing for a human being is to lose their life, therefore the death penalty is the best
deterrent when it comes to discouraging people from carrying out the worst crimes.

 It is quick, painless, and humane. The methods of execution have gradually become more
humane over the years, so the argument that the death penalty is cruel and unusual is not valid.

 The legal system constantly evolves to maximize justice. Just because it is feasible that a wrong
decision could be made by the legal system doesn’t mean that the death penalty is wrong. Every
effort is made in the US to give death row prisoners opportunities to challenge the court's
 decisions. Modern methods of crime detection, such as DNA testing, also give greater certainty
of guilt than existed in the past.

 It appeases the victims or victims' families. The death penalty can provide families of victims
with some closure, which may help them to deal with their suffering.

 Without the death penalty, some criminals would continue to commit crimes. It deters
prisoners who are already serving life sentences in jail from committing more serious offenses.

 It is a cost-effective solution. The idea put forward by abolitionists that it costs more to execute
someone than imprison them for life is simply not true and there is plenty of evidence to show
this.

 Retribution is not the same as revenge. Retribution is a necessary part of the punishment
process— without it, the friends and family of the victims as well as the public in general would
not feel that justice had been served.

Death Penalty Cons

 There is no credible proof that the death penalty works as a deterrent. In the US, in states
where the death penalty has been abolished, there has been no significant change in the rates
for serious criminal offenses, such as murder.

 It is is a cruel and unusual punishment, where basic standards of human dignity are
compromised or undermined.

 It continues the cycle of violence. Retribution is just another word for revenge— it is essentially
just a form of the flawed thinking that two wrongs can make a right. The pro argument is that
killing people is wrong, therefore you should kill people for doing it, which just doesn’t make
sense.

 It affects the poorer segments of society and racial minorities disproportionately, in part
because they are unable to afford the costs of good legal support. In the USA, although only 13%
of the population is African-American, 50% of death row prisoners are African-American.

 It is an old-fashioned and ignorant solution. America’s image would be improved in places like
Europe if the death penalty were abolished. The places where executions happen regularly
include repressive regimes like Iran, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

 The justice system is bound to make mistakes. In the case of people who are wrongly
imprisoned, they can be released from prison and given compensation, but a wrongful
execution can never righted.

 The death penalty is not cost-effective. When all the practical and legal costs are taken into
account, it is clear that the execution is more expensive than imprisoning for life.

 A life spent in prison is a worse punishment than an execution.