Death Penalty: Is It Worth It?

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Nicholas Boeh, Staff Reporter

There have been many instances in which the death penalty has been considered and used. The death penalty is used mainly for the crime of murder. It tends to be used in a discriminatory way  against the poor, minorities, and people of different ethnic backgrounds.

My personal belief is that the death penalty does not work. Yes, the death penalty rids the world of one less criminal and may bring temporary relief to the families of the victims who were affected, but there have been instances in which an innocent person was wrongly convicted. This makes the death penalty a risky process since humans are capable of fallibility.

The death penalty can be three times the expense of putting someone in jail; it can cost up to three million dollars. This money can be better spent considering there are a lot of other problems in our country.

Due to the fact that there tends to be more cons than pros to the death penalty, it is not worth the time and effort. Also, the death penalty is not a deterrent of crime. There is a big misconception that since there is the possibility of being sentenced to death for the crime of murder, criminals will fear the law and abide to it. Typically people who murder are aware of the consequences therefore the death penalty isn’t as much of a threat as living life in jail.

Instead of using the death penalty, there are far better options. Being sentenced to jail would be the perfect opportunity for convicts to reflect on what they’ve done. The prison system can work harder on rehabilitating them rather than enforcing punishment. This would provide them with more opportunity to re enter society. And if no progress is made, then they could just stay in prison. It’s better to not punish people in the same way that the problem was started.

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