Argumentative Essay

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Most people do not realize the tremendous expense involved in the sentencing of the death penalty. In fact, according to deathpenalty.com, a common myth is that a sentence to death is less expensive than a sentence to life in prison. Executing someone does sound much cheaper than providing food and care for someone for the rest of their life. On average, cases where someone is sentenced to life in prison cost around $740,000. Cases that result in a sentence of the death penalty cost about $1.26 million, which is about $90,000 more per year than the life sentence. The additional costs on top of food and care for a person are a result of the unique status of the death penalty within the United States justice system. This is because death is a truly irreversible form of punishment and the Constitution requires a lengthy and involving judicial process for capital cases such as these that include multiple levels of mandatory review after the sentence has been issued. A study done by the California death penalty system that is posted on deathpenalty.org has results showing that a death sentence costs at least eighteen times as much as a sentence of life without parole.

Due to the fact that it is expensive, unconstitutional, and permanent, I do not believe in the use of the death penalty as a form of capitol punishment. The death penalty is unconstitutional because it violates the fifth, eighth, and fourteenth amendments. Contrary to popular believe a sentence to the death penalty is about ninety-thousand dollars more expensive than a life sentence. Punishment by death is permanent and can not be taken back, even if the defendant is found innocent after execution. Efforts are being made to end the use of the death penalty, such as California’s Prop 62, but it is still a huge problem in the United States and other countries around the world. Hopefully the end to this costly, failed system is in sight.

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Works Cited

By Contrast, a Sentence of Life in Prison Is Swift and Certain, Allowing Families to Move on Knowing That Justice Is Being Served. "5 Myths About the Death Penalty - Death Penalty Focus." Death Penalty Focus. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

By Declining to Rule That Capital Punishment Was Unconstitutional in and of Itself, However, the Court Left the Door Open for State Legislatures to Draw More Narrowly Construed Death Penalty Statutes That Would Satisfy the Court's Misgivings. "ThisNation.com--Is the Death Penalty Constitutional?" ThisNation.com--Is the Death Penalty Constitutional? N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. .

By including a Phrase That Allowed for the Possibility That Citizens Might Be Denied Their Life, Liberty, or Property If Certain Procedural Safeguards Were in Place--'due Process'--they Implied That Individual Life Might Be Taken by the State under the Ri. "Is the Death Penalty Unconstitutional? - Death Penalty - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. .

"Costs of the Death Penalty." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. .

GREENHOUSE, By Steven. "Executed But Possibly Innocent." DPIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. .