Olsen 1

Jessica Olsen
Gary F. Cox
Criminal Justice
28 March 2016
The Death Penalty
Capital punishment is a current debate in the United States and a relevant issue I am
evaluating. Now from what I see, the issue pertains to whether or not death as the capital
punishment should continue being a part of the punishment in criminal law or if it should
dissipate all together, this would mean the new capital punishment would be life in prison. Today
this arises conflicts for several reasons, first historically what has been established in criminal
law for the ultimate price of a capital crime such as murder, in other words, an eye for an eye
goes out the window.
On one side of the spectrum, some people in America believe that the death penalty should
continue being a part of the criminal justice system and that is because some crimes, especially
murder is so destructive to society that the punishment should fit the crime. Some believe, If
you get rid of the death penalty, it will have an effect on plea bargains. According to a columnist
for the San Francisco Chronicle, Debra J. Saunders, she exclaims If the death penality is out of
the equation for punishment, then it will bring uncerntainy to society; crimes wouldnt solve;
victims will not recover. Further more, there is a great importance to plea bargains, If the death
penality is out of the criminal justice system, she doubts people trialed for capital crime will
plead guilty. (Saunders.)

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Others on the opposing side see that there are those who believe that the death penalty is
growing increasingly rare, and maybe life in prison is a better situation. For example, in 2015, a
man named James Liebman, who is a Columbia Law professor and death penalty researcher
noticed several things going on for people by the 2000s. People started noticing something not
particulary right with the death penality, and that is, it isnt reliable anymore. They saw this from
jurors, prosecutors, and even governers. (Liebman)
Even though, 60 percent of Americans are voting for the remains of the death penalty.
(Greene) Society and those who practice law, prosecutors, executioners, and doctors see dozens
of innocent people on death row; that there are still flaws in the system that need to be worked
through. From that, there is an equation of around 100 million dollars of saved money each year
by dismissing the death penalty for costs annually on top of people potentially being innocent. Is
potentiality enough? (Sanders)
So then the big question is, does any of this matter if an innocent life is on the line? Those
who kill an innocent life whether under the guidelines of law and justice is still murder, and that
would mean murder from the justice system and an innocent murder committed by society. So
all of these positions have to be considered by the Supreme Court, society, you and I.
At first, I was of two minds of this issue. Without research, for many years. I was for capital
punishment; I thought that it would help with taxes and also an idea of an eye for an eye now, I
see that was myself holding an ignorance fallacy. But with all the information I have learned
now, I can say that capital punishment should not be a part of the criminal justice system. I did
respect those views of people who do believe in the death penalty.

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However, if there are dozens of cases that are found innocent later in life with advancements
growing in technology, then society and the criminal system are sending people off for dead
under weary situations?
Aside from that, the cost is an issue as well seeing that us in society pay for this with our
taxes. If it costs two million dollars to set someone up for trial for a murder case that involves
punishing them by death and we are shown it is less for an individual to be institutionalized in
prison yearly then I believe life in prison is the better option. The weary ness of whether or not
these people could be innocent is not a great enough conclusion for me to send someone off to
death, not just the costs.
Beyond the shadows of doubt, my conclusion rests on keeping an offender in prison. We
dont necessarily know if the punishment does fit the crime by killing a person for killing. To
me, I think this could go two ways. We could see a decrease of murder because who wants to
spend their whole life in prison?
Also, an idea I keep in mind, the death penalty isnt as scarce as a society may take it.
Especially when you look at the statistics for homicide/suicide rates. More than half the people
who commit crimes such as murder or kidnapping attempt to kill themselves as soon as they get
caught. In America, the suicide rate is higher than the homicide rate. So with giving a
suggestion such as this to take in mind and then use it when discusing the death penalty. To me,
this shows a sign of society not punishing them for the crime accurately; this could be an escape
route for a person who is committing a high crime such as murder. Because who says, death is a
threat to a person who commits murder, especially if they already devalue life?

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Work Cited
"Why Has The Death Penalty Grown Increasingly Rare?" Morning Edition 7 Dec. 2015.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
"Capital Punishment." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2016. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Saunders, Debra J. "Getting Rid of the Death Penalty Would Eliminate Plea Bargains." Death
Penalty. Ed. Nol Merino. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current
Controversies. Rpt. from "Get Rid of the Death Penalty, Get Rid of Plea Bargains."
Creators.com. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.