To Die or Not to Die: A Series on the Death Penalty

To Die or Not To Die :

A Series on the Death Penalty

An argument in favor of the Death Penalty

Raymond O Goss

UA Little Rock

The validity of Capital Punishment in the United States of America:

First page: Thesis and Introduction

Second page: Cost of Execution compared to Life Imprisonment

Third page: Determent of Future Crime

Fourth page: Consolation for the Families

Fifth page: Conclusion

Sixth page: References

To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 1

To Die or Not To Die

Thesis and Introduction

The topic of the following arguments is the death penalty, otherwise referred to as capital

punishment.

1,436 people were executed in the United States from 1977 through May 2016,

primarily by means of lethal injection. Most death penalty cases involve the execution of

murderers although capital punishment can also be applied for treason, espionage, and

other crimes.1 The basis for my being in favor of the death penalty is the determent of future

crime, comparative costs to life imprisonment, and consolation for the families affected by the

crimes. When the death penalty is looked at from the standpoint of future crime, then one has to

consider the initial crime that was committed, I.E.: Treason , Murder, Espionage, etc. From an

economic standpoint, the death penalty could be viewed as cost effective. What is the cost of an

execution compared to life imprisonment with laundry, electricity, hot water, three meals per

day, recreational activities, etc. All of those things cost more over 20-70 years than a simple

execution.

Proponents argue that retribution or "an eye for an eye" honors the victim, helps

console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have

an opportunity to cause future tragedy.2 This is quote is about families who lost loved ones

to the crimes of the accused. What retribution do they seek in order to feel consoled?

1
ProCon.org. (2017, September 5).
2
ProCon.org. (2017, September 5).
To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 2

To Die or Not To Die

Cost of Execution compared to Life Imprisonment

Cases without the death penalty cost $740,000, while cases where the death penalty

is sought cost $1.26 million. Maintaining each death row prisoner costs taxpayers $90,000

more per year than a prisoner in general population.3 This is a statistic from the death

penalty information center. It provides state by state information as well as the federal average

on the comparative costs of the death penalty versus life imprisonment. With the above

information it is simply stated that it costs, on average, $90,000 more per year to sentence a

person to death than life imprisonment.

Each death penalty inmate is approximately $1.12 million (2015 USD) more than a

general population inmate.4 This greater cost comes from more expensive living

conditions, a much more extensive legal process, and increasing resistance to the death

penalty from chemical manufacturers overseas. These costs could even become higher,

pending the outcome of various lawsuits against various states for their botched

executions.5 Contrary to the previous article this one states that the death penalty costs 14

times more than life imprisonment, which I find hard to believe. I have however not found any

evidence to the contrary to support my suspicions. Due to lack of support in favor of my

position, I must submit, at this time, to the apparent facts. The death penalty has the potential to

be less cost effective than life imprisonment.

3
DPIC. (n.d.). Costs of the Death Penalty.
4
McFarland, T. (2016).
5
McFarland, T. (2016).
To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 3

Determent of Future Crime

One of the common reasons for the retention of the death penalty is determent of future

crime. People have been asked in gallup polls, If you could commit murder and get away with

it, would you? Some people say, Yes. As long as I am not caught and there are no

consequences. How capital punishment affects murder rates can be explained through

general deterrence theory, which supposes that increasing the risk of apprehension and

punishment for crime deters individuals from committing crime. Nobel laureate Gary S.

Becker's seminal 1968 study of the economics of crime assumed that individuals respond to

the costs and benefits of committing crime.6 I realize that this fact is not universal, however,

it cannot be ignored. It is proven that determent works.

Determent has been used for thousands of years. Some may say that this should mean that

no crime would exist if that is the case. There are always a few bad eggs to ruin the whole batch.

Classic examples include the July Crisis of 1914, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and

most, if not all, acute interstate crises. General deterrence, by contrast, relates to

opponents who maintain armed forces to regulate their relationship even though neither is

anywhere near mounting an attack. Thus, general deterrence has less to do with crisis

decisionmaking than with everyday decisionmaking in conflictual or adversarial

relationships.7 Essentially, man will avoid conflict if possible. If the end result does not meet

the desired ending, then it is possible that the situation in question could be avoided.

6
Muhlhausen, D. B. (2007, June 27).
7
Quackenbush, S. L. (2011).
To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 4

Consolation for the families

Many people will argue, including me, that it is comforting to know that there family

members killer is going to be, in their eyes, justly punished. This is part of the Eye for an Eye

mentality. The last time anyone saw Julie Heath alive was Oct. 3, 1993, when the 18-year-

old set out to visit her boyfriend in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Police later arrested Eric

Randall Nance for Heaths murder. Investigators said he picked her up near her vehicle,

before DNA evidence proved he raped and killed her. In 1994, he was handed the death

penalty. At the time, 80 percent of Americans nationwide favored of the death penalty,

according to a Gallup poll. But the only reason Belinda Crites needs to support the death

penalty is what Eric Nance did to my cousin. She wasnt just my cousin, she was my

best friend, Crites told the NewsHour. He tore my whole family apart.8 Basically, how

would you feel if it was your family compared to someone else's family? People tend to be more

biased when a situation affects them directly. If someone murdered my girlfriend I would be

more inclined to lean toward the death penalty. If someone killed a random actor, singer, etc. I

would be inclined toward the death penalty still, but may be able to be persuaded in my

judgment.

Conclusion

Overall, after all of my research, I believe that aside from the economics of the death

penalty, it is a viable solution. If the federal and state governments could get the costs down then

this form of punishment would be as efficient as it is effective.

8
Santhanam, L. (2017, April 25).
To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 5

In terms of determent of future crime, it seems that history has proved itself. The more

executions during a time of high crime, the sooner the rate of crime drops, as well as more

drastically. Once the execution rate has simmered down for a long while then crime picks back

up due to lack of sufficient punishment.

Though I have no experience losing a loved one or friend to murder, I imagine it is

among the worst pain any family or persons can experience. These people would want, for a

great part, for this person to pay for his/her crimes. The death penalty can ensure that a

possibility exists that another family won't suffer the same pain.

Throughout my research, nothing has deterred me from holding fast to my position on the

death penalty. I still believe it is an effective means to a large scale problem in the U.S.. I also

believe that the government will get the costs of execution down overall compared to that of life

imprisonment. Therefore, my position remains firm.

To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 6

References(Some will be repeated)

ProCon.org. (2017, September 5). Death Penalty ProCon.org. Retrieved from

http://deathpenalty.procon.org/

ProCon.org. (2017, September 5). Death Penalty ProCon.org. Retrieved from

http://deathpenalty.procon.org/

DPIC. (n.d.). Costs of the Death Penalty. Retrieved October 27, 2017, from

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

McFarland, T. (2016). The Death Penalty vs. Life Incarceration: A Financial Analysis.

Susquehanna University Political Review, 7(1), 4th ser., 1-6. Retrieved October 27, 2017,

from

http://scholarlycommons.susqu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=supr

McFarland, T. (2016). The Death Penalty vs. Life Incarceration: A Financial Analysis.

Susquehanna University Political Review, 7(1), 4th ser., 1-6. Retrieved October 27, 2017,

from

http://scholarlycommons.susqu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=supr

Muhlhausen, D. B. (2007, June 27). The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives.

Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://www.heritage.org/testimony/the-death-penalty-

deters-crime-and-saves-lives

veteran analyst in The Heritage Foundations Center for Data Analysis

Quackenbush, S. L. (2011). Understanding General Deterrence. Understanding General

Deterrence, 60-61. doi:10.1057/9780230370791_1

Santhanam, L. (2017, April 25). Does the death penalty bring closure to a victims family?

Retrieved October 30, 2017, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/death-penalty-bring-

To Die or Not to Die: An Argument in Favor of the Death Penalty 7

closure-victims-family

Data Producer for the PBS NewsHour.