From hanging to the electric chair to the lethal injection, our society has always had a death penalty for those that cross a forbidden line. In order to receive the death penalty you must be charged of murder with a certain amount of aggravating circumstances depending on the state. Some states also include treason, aircraft hijacking, kidnapping with harm, and various others. But is the usage of the death penalty wrong and does it go against the 8th amendment of no cruel or unusual punishment? Despite how inhumane the death penalty may seem, it actually is the best solution because it removes harmful members from society.

Sentencing someone to the death penalty is a difficulty decision, no matter what the situation is, because you are constantly haunted by the idea that they could’ve been innocent. But was the murder victim innocent as well? Granted there are some special cases where they weren’t, but that person still decided that someone didn’t deserve to live. That is one of the biggest concerns with the death penalty is if it is claiming innocent lives. The death penalty removes known murderers. There is a small amount that is exonerated, (under 30) per year. This isn’t enough to abolish the death penalty though. Then there’s the question on if that convict can “change.” If someone can take someone else’s life, can they truly change? They can’t. To solve the problem of wrongly convicting someone though, the death penalty should only be given to someone is one hundred percent guilty. If there is a chance they aren’t, then they need to do more research before making any decision. That would eliminate the problem of wrongly accusing someone.

Another point that has been brought up is that the death penalty doesn’t deterrent from murder. In fact, states that have abolished the death penalty have less murder cases. That doesn’t necessarily mean it should be abolished everywhere though because has anyone considered that the states with low murder rates have less murders in general? That would make it so the death penalty isn’t necessary. Not only that, but the concept of death terrifies people, so it will be enough to keep them straight, but only if it is enforced. Ernest Van Den Haag said, "Common sense, lately bolstered by statistics, tells us that the death penalty will deter murder, if anything can. People fear nothing more than death.” (Ernest Van Den Haag) All of which is true. Besides that, the majority of states still have a death penalty.

A controversial part of the death penalty involves race. There is a claim that more convicted murderers who get the death penalty are black. In actuality, 56% of the convicts execute where white, while 34% were black. Besides that currently on death row, 43.23% are white and 41.61% are black. That may seem close, but they death penalty should be given to anyone guilty, no matter what the race. If we spent more time fixing the bugs instead of trying to abolish it, the death penalty would be very efficient and there wouldn’t be these problems.

The biggest complaint about the death penalty is that it isn’t harsh enough. People think it’s too easy and that they deserve to be tortured. Prison isn’t accomplishing that. The government spends tons of money on prisons, the amount depending on the state. We are paying to keep these monsters alive. It cost twice the amount for an inmate on death row. Gary D. Beatty stated that, "If the multiple layers of appeal are pursued in an ethical, and fiscally responsible manner, execution is less costly than warehousing a murderer for life." (Gary D. Beatty) If this was all executed right, the death penalty would save us money compared to life without parole. Thus, prison isn’t the worst option; it’s just a waste of taxpayer money that could go towards better things.

In conclusion, we should have the death penalty. It’s important to have something that extreme around to keep extreme people in check. In the long run, it’ll remove killers from society, it’ll save us tax money that could go towards other things, and if it is done right, it’ll save more innocent lives than it’ll take. People need to understand that this isn’t inhumane. It is simply the best tactic for handling murders. We should invest more time in fixing the various bugs the death penalty contains, in order to have more benefits from it in the long run.


Works Cited
"What's New." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.

Henrichson, Christian, and Ruth Delaney. "Vera Institute of Justice: Making Justice Systems Fairer and More Effective through Research and Innovation." The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014.

Ernest Van Den Haag, PhD, late Professor of Jurisprudence at Fordham University, in an Oct. 17, 1983 New York Times Op-Ed article titled "For the Death Penalty,"

Gary D. Beatty, JD, a Florida Assistant State Attorney, in his Dec. 1, 1997 article, "The Next Time Someone Says the Death Penalty Costs More Than Life in Prison, Show Them This Article," available at www.fed-soc.org,