Capital punishment: history, ethics, and legal frameworks

¶ … Capital punishment [...] both sides of the capital punishment debate, and argue why capital punishment is an excellent deterrent to crime. Capital punishment is a controversial but effective deterrent to crime. The benefits of capital punishment far outweigh the drawbacks, and statistics indicate the American public supports the death penalty for a majority of violent crimes. Thus, capital punishment is effective, saves tax dollars, and helps contain the most violent of America's criminal population.

Capital punishment has been controversial throughout America history. Also referred to as the death penalty, the practice has always been a contentious and emotional issue. In the United States, disagreement over capital punishment began as early as Colonial times after America gained independence from Great Britain. Some people began to wonder if taking a human life was really justified, even by the government (Vila and Morris xxv), and the debate has raged on ever since. In fact, since the Supreme Court reinstituted the practice in 1976, the debate about capital punishment has become even more heated.

Those who oppose capital punishment do so on moral and often spiritual grounds. Adversaries of the system believe taking a human life is cruel and unusual, no matter what the circumstances. Many also believe the time it takes for appeal after appeal to travel through the court systems while the inmate waits on death row is a violation of human rights. Finally, many feel the practice does not deter crime in the end. In addition, many object because they believe most people facing the death penalty are poor and underprivileged, which means they in all probability did not have access to skilled lawyers, which did not allow them fair trials. Many opponents also feel the death penalty is more expensive than keeping a criminal behind bars for life, because of the increased court costs due to repeated appeals and reappeals (Haines 171). While all these arguments may have merit, ultimately, the American people support capital punishment, and many statistics prove it deters crime.

Americans support the death penalty for a number of reasons, and an overwhelming majority of Americans feel it is the proper punishment for crimes such as murder. Author Haines continues, "The phoenixlike resurgence of America's death penalty has been accompanied, and perhaps facilitated, by a corresponding wave of public enthusiasm. Surveys reveal a consistent pattern of support for capital punishment, in which around 75 to 80% of the persons polled agree that murderers should be executed" (Haines 3). The death penalty is not used in all cases, but only "capital" cases, such as premeditated murder or treason. For example, convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was executed for his crime because it was premeditated and took so many lives. Many proponents of capital punishment feel cases such as these, where the crime is extremely heinous, deserve capital punishment because of the enormity of the crime. In addition, statistics indicate that capital punishment does reach the repeat offender criminal population, which can ultimately lead to less crime overall.

There is another startling statistic that indicates the necessity of the death penalty. Capital punishment is often the end of a long and varied criminal career. The Bureau of Justice notes, "Among inmates under sentence of death and with available criminal histories at yearend 2005: nearly 2 in 3 had a prior felony conviction, 1 in 12 had a prior homicide conviction" ("Capital Punishment Statistics"). Thus, if capital punishment was employed more in murder cases, convicted criminals might not be released into the public to murder again. Many sex offenders also follow the same path, repeating their offenses each time they are released from prison, and many proponents feel the death penalty should also apply to the most heinous of these criminals as well.

Most Americans know the country's prisons are desperately overcrowded. They are also extremely expensive to operate and maintain. The Federal Bureau of Prisons estimates it costs nearly $30,000 annually to house just one prisoner ("Costs of Incarceration"). Many opponents of the death penalty support punishing capital crimes with life behind bars without the possibility of parole. Not only does that solution clog the prison system with additional inmates, it adds tremendously to prison costs. Housing just one death row inmate for 20 years could cost over $600,000, and that does not include inflation and other rising cost factors. Thus, keeping inmates on death row simply adds to the taxpayer's costs and creates additional crowding in prisons that are already reaching the breaking point in inmate capacity.

Many studies also indicate that capital punishment is a strong deterrent in violent crimes. Two authors note, "A leading national study suggests that each execution prevents some eighteen murders, on average" (Sunstein, and Vermeule). Thus, the most heinous criminals are being punished for heinous murders and crimes. They are punished for their actions, but their executions also save other lives that might be taken if they returned to their streets. Opponents say these criminals would remain behind bars for the rest of their lives, but many studies show that even "lifers" are offered parole in some cases, which means eventually, the criminal could return to public life, even if convicted of a capital crime, and this could mean additional death and mayhem.

While opponents of the practice often sight moral and spiritual reasons not to take another human life, many proponents of capital punishment feel it is just as ethically and morally wrong not to take the life of a dangerous, habitual criminal who probably will offend again if given the opportunity. Authors Sunstein and Vermeule continue, "[T]he task is to consider the possibility that the failure to impose capital punishment is, prima facie and all things considered, a serious moral wrong" (Sunstein, and Vermeule). It is morally and ethically wrong to knowingly release a criminal who has committed a capital crime back into the public, and this could very well happen if the death penalty is abolished. History shows that some inmates can and do fall through the cracks of the prison system. The safety of the American public depends on a strong justice system, and capital punishment is an integral part of that system.