The concept of an “eye for an eye” has been around since the dawn of mankind. This phrase is particularly taken seriously in Texas where many citizens still believe in the death penalty. Since executions were reinstated in Texas in 1976, executions have been a fairly common ruling in capital offense cases. Specifically, in 2010, Texas carried out seventeen executions, making them the leading state within our nation. However, in more recent years many have begun to question, whether this form of sentencing should be allowed.
Executions are permanent, which is one characteristic that draws people towards them, yet as we have begun to see more frequently not every conviction is accurate. There have been eleven Texas death row inmate exonerations after they were wrongfully accused. For example, Anthony Graves, a former prison resident was recently released after serving eighteen years for a murder he did not commit. Thus, in allowing executions, there is the possibility of people like Graves being killed for something they are later found innocent of. Rulings are not always correct, and so to determine someone’s livelihood based on possible faulty evidence is not a very sensible method.
Therefore, if Texas were to abolish the death penalty, many would question what would be an equally harsh punishment to replace it with. However, there is an answer for this: life in prison without parole. In 2005 the Texas Legislature passed this idea as a viable option in determining sentencing. This allows for convicted felons to be placed in prison for life, without the option of being let out on parole for an action such as good behavior. Some consider this form of punishment is worse than the death penalty. Instead of being executed and permanently taken from this earth, these inmates are forced to sit in a cell with very little contact to the outside world for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, this would prevent the wrongfully accused of being killed before they are able to prove themselves innocent.
Hence, although the death penalty is a form of punishment that holds people accountable for their actions, it can also harm people not deserving of such punishment. Life without parole is an alternative to the death penalty that is still an extremely harsh sentence. Thus, I believe that this option will become more prevalent, eventually making the death penalty obsolete.
Kathryn, I agree with your opinion that life without parole is a more effective alternative to the death penalty, and that hopefully capital punishment will become obsolete in the future. In your argument, you mentioned several important reasons for your logic, including a concern for executing innocent people and that life without parole is equivalent to execution in our "eye for eye" culture of justice.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are some points that you did not include in your post, such as the high cost of capital punishment. In Texas, the average cost of a death penalty is $2.3 million per case, which is about three times as much as imprisoning someone in a high security unit for 40 years. This is due to the fact that capital trials are more lengthy and expensive than other murder trials. Because of the need for expert witness investigations, jury selection, and the necessity of two separate trials (for guilt and sentencing), these trials are much more costly even before the appeals process begins. Even more, during many of the trials, life sentences are issued instead of guilty pleas, thus the state has to pay not only for the trial, but also for life imprisonment (which is about $750,000).
Additionally, recent studies have found that the death penalty is not effective in deterring crime. Both criminologists and police chiefs agree concur with this, and believe that capital punishment is not smart on crime. Therefore, in an economy marked with deep budget cuts, I think it’s time for a more efficient to be developed.
--"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishment that the good have inflicted." Oscar Wilde--
Sources:
http://tcadp.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/What-makes-the-Texas-death-penalty-so-expensive-print.pdf
http://www.fnsa.org/v1n1/dieter1.html
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org