Running head: DEATH PENALTY 1

The Death Penalty: Fighting Fire with Fire

Joshua Zempoalteca

Westminster High School

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If you are a person of color who murdered a white person, did you know that you

raised your chances of receiving the death penalty? The death penalty, also known as

capital punishment, is a punishment used when a someone commits murder. Many states

in The United States of America still allow for this consequence to be legal, although

deemed unconstitutional in the 20th century by the Supreme Court; it was reinstated as

constitutional and not an infringement on the 8th Amendment in 1976, a decision that is

still argued about today. While punishing murderers by taking their life just as they took

another's life is an option that many states are open to using, there are more humane and

reasonable alternatives that can be taken to end this ruthless cycle of deaths and have

justice for the family that lost a loved one.

Admittedly, one common argument used in support of the death penalty is the

“eye for an eye” argument. This argument says that one must pay for what they did by

doing the same thing they did with their victim; furthermore, another argument for the

death penalty states that having a death penalty deters people from committing crimes so

they won’t have to face the death penalty. This seems to be the case. According to Robert

Tanner,​ “each execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide

study by professors at Emory University. (Other studies have estimated the deterred

murders per execution at three, five and 14).” (Tanner, 2007).​ Tanner explains to us that

using capital punishment led to fewer murders recurring. In addition, “Speeding up

executions would strengthen the deterrent effect. For every 2.75 years cut from time

spent on death row, one murder would be prevented, according to a 2004 study by an

Emory University professor. (Studies say Death Penalty Deters Crime, 2007)” This
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information shows that having the death penalty would scare people enough to the point

where homicides would occur at a lower rate.

However, the death penalty should no longer be utilized because it is very

expensive. According to Williams, “the state pays up to $300,000 for attorneys to

represent each capital inmate on appeal.” (Williams, 2011). Just to have an attorney for

an appeal case is already very costly, and that’s only one part of the process for a criminal

given the death penalty; furthermore, considering that all punished with the death penalty

do not want to die, they will appeal to make sure they live.​ ​Another reason that Williams

states is, “a death penalty prosecution costs up to 20 times as much as a

life-without-parole case.” (Williams, 2011). This is significant because a lot of cases take

a long time to finish due to the multiple appeals and delays that happen to prolong the

execution of the criminal. Another reason for not allowing the death penalty should be, as

Williams states, “​Taxpayers have spent more than $4 billion on capital punishment in

California since it was reinstated in 1978.” (Williams, 2011). Four billion dollars! All that

money that could have been spent somewhere else, like education or mental health

facilities and such, was spent deciding if someone should be killed for their actions upon

another person. The amount of money spent on the death penalty in California alone is

absurd.

In an article called “50 Facts About the Death Penalty”, it states that, “​Studies on

the cost of the death penalty have consistently shown that the death penalty is more

expensive than a system using life sentences as the most severe punishment.” (50 Facts

About..., 2015). Time and time again, it has been proven that trying to kill someone is
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more expensive than leaving them in a cell for the rest of their life. The article also states

that while $4 billion has been spent on capital punishment, only 13 executions have gone

through. So much spent for taking less than 20 people’s lives. Based on all the

information given, we can conclude that tax money that could have been spent on

beneficial programs that society needs was wasted on deciding if someone should die.

Giving the death penalty does not decrease any crimes proving it to be useless.

​To summarize, the death penalty is very costly and we can use that money for more

beneficial things. We can replace the death penalty with a life sentence as it is less

expensive.

Not only does the death penalty not work, it is also discriminatory and is used

against minorities, the poor, and members of certain religions.

To illustrate this, an article called “Facts About the Death Penalty” states that,

“Jurors in Washington state are three times more likely to recommend a death sentence

for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case. “(Facts About the

Death Penalty, 2018). This is significant because it shows how these cases discriminate

towards minorities. In the article “Facts About the Death Penalty”, it states that, “A study

in California found that those convicted of killing whites were more than 3 times as likely

to be sentenced to death as those convicted of killing blacks and more than 4 times more

likely as those convicted of killing Latinos.” (Facts About the Death Penalty, 2018). This

shows that people of color’s lives are less valuable than a person that is white, and killing

a white person automatically makes you a target for capital punishment.

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In the article titled “Where the Death Penalty Still Lives”, “​Justice Thurgood

Marshall argued that the ‘impotence’ of the poor and of minorities ‘leaves them victims

of a sanction that the wealthier, better-represented, just-as-guilty person can

escape.’”(​Where the Death Penalty Still Lives, 2016). Justice Thurgood Marshall is

stating that if you have money, you have a better chance of not dying. This is unfair to

many people since not everyone has the fortune (no pun intended) of having money to

spend or are lucky enough to be born a certain skin color so they can live.

Clearly, there are ways people can avoid the death penalty based on their race

and wealth which is unfair. All the unjust and unfair loopholes that are created by the

death penalty by skin color and wealth can be avoided if we just abolish the death penalty

altogether.

Ultimately, the death penalty should no longer be legal due to the fact that many

innocent lives have been taken as their can be cases where people are wrongfully

convicted of a crime they did not commit. As said in the article “Death Penalty and

Innocence”, ” Since 1973, 151 people have been released from death rows throughout the

country due to evidence in their wrongful convictions. In 2003 alone, 10 wrongfully

convicted defendants were released from death row.” (Death Penalty and Innocence,

n.d.). That would be enough people for 5 classes of 30, which is way too much. Since

there is no way to ensure that the person in question is truly guilty, this can lead to an

increase of wrongful executions. Dieter’s quote from 1997 still holds true to this day; he

states that, “the current emphasis on faster executions, fewer resources for the defense,

and an expansion in the number of death cases means that the execution of innocent
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people is inevitable. The increasing number of innocent defendants being found on death

row is a clear sign that our process for sentencing people to death is fraught with

fundamental errors--errors which cannot be remedied once an execution occurs.” (Dieter,

1997). Dieter is stating that the focus on executing people at a speedy rate will not be a

good idea as it will lead to many more mistakes, more than already occurs at the pace

currently at. Therefore, these capital punishment executions should no longer continue.

In conclusion, the death penalty should no longer be used because it is too expensive,

racially discriminates against minorities, and takes lives of some innocent people. The death

penalty is very costly and takes away the life of those who have been wrongly convicted, forcing

them to waste their life away in prison for a crime they did not commit, and discriminate against

those who do not have money, those who are not privileged, and those who are not the racial

majority.

Imagine that you or your loved one was wrongfully charged with a crime you or your

loved one did not commit. Would you want either of you to be murdered for something you did

not do?
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References

Anderson, D. (2016, February 22). Why The Death Penalty Should Be Legal. Retrieved from

https://www.listland.com/10-reasons-the-death-penalty-should-be-legal/

Bazelon, E. (2016, August 23). Where the death penalty still lives. ​New York Times. ​Retrieved

from​ ​https://tinyurl.com/yb87xztm

Death penalty fast facts. (2017, October 4). ​CNN. ​Retrieved from

https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/19/us/death-penalty-fast-facts/index.html

Death Penalty Facts. (n.d).​ Amnesty USA.​ Retrieved from

https://www.amnestyusa.org/issues/death-penalty/death-penalty-facts/

Executed but possibly innocent (2007, July 12). ​Death Penalty Information Center. ​Retrieved

from ​https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executed-possibly-innocent

Facts about the death penalty (2018, February 23). ​Death Penalty Information Center.​ Retrieved

from ​https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf​ ​ `

Masci. D. (2017, April 245 Facts about the Death Penalty. (2017). ​Pew Research. ​Retrieved from

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/24/5-facts-about-the-death-penalty/

Rothschild, M. (n.d). ​Ranker.​ Death Penalty Facts That Might Surprise You. Retrieved from

https://www.ranker.com/list/death-penalty-facts/mike-rothschild

Tanner, R. (2007)​. Washington Post. ​Studies say Death Penalty Deters Crime.​ ​Retrieved from

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061100406.html
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Williams, C. (2011, July 20). Death penalty costs California one hundred eighty four million

dollars a year, study says. ​Los Angeles Times​.​ ​ Retrieved from

https://tinyurl.com/632xbjw

50 Facts About the Death Penalty. (2015). ​Death Penalty Information Center. ​Retrieved from

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/50-Facts#50factslwop