Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

Crimes are being committed every second in America. Stealing, raping, kidnapping, and murdering are only some of the many crimes. There are several punishments for these criminals ranging from community service to death row. Death row is where murderers are placed and sooner or later they will be executed. The death penalty has become a common procedure in many states. Deterring crime is the main issue of the death penalty. People agree and disagree that the death penalty is a good way to stop killers. One of society’s greatest arguments is whether the death penalty is cruel and inhumane. Sometimes the death penalty does deter a crime, but the process is so drawn out that it might not pose a threat to hardened criminals. The death penalty is a serious decision that requires excessive amounts of money, research, and planning to be administered effectively, but when done correctly, it could be a reliable means of punishment to killers.

The death penalty was resurrected in 1976 when Congress declared it constitutional. As times have changed so has the process of the death penalty. People are no longer willing to march a prisoner straight from the courthouse to the gallows, as was done at times in history. Today the death row inmates go through an excruciating process that could take anywhere from a few to maybe twenty-five or more years just to get a prisoner in an execution room. The expenses, however, do not come from holding the prisoner for that time period; the money is spent on the trial and appeal process. This drawn out procedure of appeals also puts an enormous burden on the criminal justice system. “It has been figured that the average capital trial and first stage of appeals cost the tax payer approximately 1.8 million dollars per case, which is about three times the cost of keeping a convict in prison for life” ( Lacayo, Richard. “The Politics of Life and...