You are on page 1of 3

Godinez 1

Jose Godinez

Laurie Oberg

Language Arts 11

3 November 2015

The Solution

The death penalty extends its existence all the way to ancient Mesopotamian (18th century B.C.).

The Code of Hammurabi is introduced at the time and they are a set of laws. It has the concept of the

death penalty, otherwise known as capital punishment. The death penalty is the punishment of execution,

administered to someone that is convicted of a capital crime (Oxford Dictionaries). The death penalty has

been practiced all over the world, today there are some independent states that still maintain the practice.

Although the death penalty is practiced in the United Sates it does not have a final conclusion; if weather

we should maintain or abolish the practice. Life without parole can be the solution, it is less expensive, it

has protection against wrongful executions, and it provides justice.

A counter argument can be made that life without parole cases can be more expensive over time.

Being sentence for life in prison means that the prison must maintain the life of the prisoners until they

die. This can be costly, the website (Justice for All) estimates that the cost for LWOP cases will cost

around $1.2 million-$3.6 million. The state of California it has more than 3,000 life without parole

prisoners. Then its fair to say that the state of California will spend more to maintain their lives in

comparison to the death penalty.

The death penalty will provide justice for the families who are affected by the tragedy. The phrase

An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth says it all. Losing your life is by far the most unfortunate

thing that could happen to a person. When someone takes somebodys life theyre responsible for

committing that crime. Therefore, they should face the same punishment as they committed because the

person whos life got taken away will never go back home to their family. It would be unfair if that

person goes to prison and then is released. Achieving justice will mean that the person who committed the
Godinez 2

crime shall face the death penalty.

Although the death penalty may achieve justice at some stages it may not be the best form to

accomplish it. There is no doubt that it takes a long take to carry out executions, many cases on death row

keep getting extended from the set date to be executed. Life without parole allows victims survivors to

move on, rather than keeping them trapped in decades of court hearings and waiting for an execution to

occur (ACLU). In the article from Time magazine, Death Penalty Walking, by David Von Drehle

mentions the negatives of the death penalty. He mentions that executions carries fewer than 3 in 100 death

sentences in the United States. This is why most states have adapted, life without parole sentences. It is

fair to say that we must abolish the death penalty and adapt to life without parole.

It makes sense that life without parole can increase in cost over time. Except this is not the case to

carry out the death penalty is significantly more expensive. It takes time and money for every execution;

there an entire process from trials costs to the form of execution. The most preferred form of execution is

lethal injection. Texas has carried out the most execution than any other state in the United States,

taxpayers spend about $2.3 million for each case (Executions Cost Texas Millions). Other states like

California also spend a fortune: the price tag for Californias new death row is $336 million (ACLU).

The solution to fix this problem of spending millions is to abolish the death penalty. The price will reduce

if people are sentence to LWOP instead of being on death row. It will be more effective if money is not

being spent on death sentence(s). Using money towards education is a better idea because it will be

beneficial for the whole United States.

Life without parole allows mistakes to be corrected. It would be unethical if a person gets the

death penalty but then later is proven innocent. That is exactly what the system [death penalty] has done

before: a demonstrated error rate of 1 innocent person for every 7 persons executed (ProCon). LWOP

definitely creates time to make justice accurate. It was reported that between 1973 to the present, more

than 300 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing (Innocence Project). The

word exonerated means to set free a person after being wrongfully convicted (The free Dictionary).

Even if those people serve years in prison and then release, its nothing compared to accidently getting
Godinez 3

killed instead. Mistakes will always been made when dealing with the death penalty, it puts innocent lives

at risk. LWOP gives the people that have been convicted of a crime and will serve a death sentence. They

have the time to try and prove their innocence.

Life without parole sends a better message for making justice. If in a court of law people that get

the death penalty because they killed someone else, to show that killing is wrong? The death penalty

disrupts the constitution It is barbaric and violates the cruel and unusual clause in the Bill of Rights

(Balanced Politics). This is why states shouldnt be given the option to have capital punishment instead

have life without parole. We need to be a nation that kills people to show that killing is wrong, but a

nation that proves justice. Thats why life without parole is the better option it provides justice for the

victims families. The people who committed the crime will be off the streets for good and will prevent

any further killings.

You might also like