Yujin: Death penalty

Since early history, the death penalty has been used as a form of punishment. Boiling alive, slow slicing, burning at the stake, the classic hanging, and sawing people alive were a fraction of the gruesome examples in medieval times, especially in parts of Europe and Asia. In early modern Europe, as a mass fear of witches formed, mass executions were conducted and were generalized as a basic form of punishment for minor offences. According to McCarthy (2019) almost 7,000 people were executed for the crime of witchcraft in Europe alone. People may imagine that in this age, cruel executions for witchcraft do not exist; however, a woman accused of practicing the craft was beheaded in Saudi Arabia, where absurd laws for witchcraft are still in place. According to new research from the Death Penalty Information Center (2021), at the present there have been a total of 1,534 executions since 1976 in the United Sates alone. That is the number of students in about three  schools combined. Although the trends for executions have gone down, still 483 people were executed in 2020, and in Thailand 35 people were executed last year, according to Death Sentences and Executions 2020 (2021). Many people argue that the death penalty is an effective solution to prevent criminals from committing crimes. However, this essay will argue that the death penalty should be abolished because it is inhuman and barbaric as well as illogical, ineffective, expensive, and sometimes unjust.

         It is easy to see why many believe that capital punishment would lower crime rates, since they believe it will stop people from committing, or recommitting crimes. However, in recent statistics compiled in the United Sates by Death Penalty Information Center shows (n.d.) that murder rates in the states that allow the death penalty are consistently higher than states that do not have the death penalty. These statistics suggest that capital punishment is not successful in keeping criminals from committing serious crimes. Additionally, a study conducted by Radelet and Lacock in 2009, indicates that 88% of criminologists do not believe that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime.

The justice system in which the death penalty operates is vastly lacking, costing many innocent lives and much money. An average cost for an inmate of capital punishment on the death row costs 1.12 million dollars or about 36,600,000 baht more than the general inmate in the United Sates, according to McFarland (2016). It is extremely expensive because of legal costs. Almost always the person who faces the death penalty cannot afford their own attorney; therefore, lawyers or public defenders must be assigned by the government or state who pays them to represent the offender. On top of that, the trials are held over long periods of time, mounting the expenses further. Those who can afford them, afford skilled and renowned lawyers who will likely be able to free the offender from the offences even if they are guilty of heinous crimes. Those who are innocent but cannot afford professional lawyers can be convicted of the crimes falsely, leading to the execution of innocent lives. According to Innocence Resources 2021) one inmate in every eight are exonerated, and 4.1% inmates on the death row are likely innocent. This is caused by numerous errors in the system, including accusations or evidence that are falsely claimed, witnesses who are not reliable, and as mentioned, insufficient legal representation.

How then would the justice system manage the criminals who commit monstrous crimes, if the death penalty is abolish? Life in prison is a sensible alternative to the death penalty. Unlike the death penalty, where it is impossible to correct heavy mistakes, a life sentence allows innocent people to have the precious chance of living in society again. Otherwise, people who have committed heinous crimes while having solid and strong evidence to support it should have life in prison with no parole or bail. Life without parole also provides resources for some valuable information for authorities to study; although it may not all be trusted. In a sense, life without parole is worse than death, since conditions in prisons are much more tormenting and mentally exhausting than a quick and easy death for an unforgivable person.

References

Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). Murder Rate of Death Penalty States Compared to Non-Death Penalty States. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/murder-rates/murder-rate-of-death-penalty-states-compared-to-non-death-penalty-states 

Death Penalty Information Center. (2021, September 1). Facts about the Death Penalty. https://documents.deathpenaltyinfo.org/pdf/FactSheet.pdf 

Death sentences and executions 2020. (2021, April 21). Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/3760/2021/en/ 

Innocence resources. (2021). Witness To Innocence. https://www.witnesstoinnocence.org/innocence 

McCarthy, N. (2019, October 29). The Death Toll of Europe’s Witch Trials. Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/19801/people-tried-and-executed-in-witch-trials-in-europe/ 

McFarland, T. (2016). The death penalty vs. Life incarceration: A financial analysis. The Death Penalty vs. Life Incarceration: A Financial Analysis, 7(4). https://scholarlycommons.susqu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=supr 

Radelet, M. L., & Lacock, T. L. (2009). Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates? The Views of Leading Criminologists. Radelet Production Proof. https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/files/DeterrenceStudy2009.pdf