1102Take the Capital out of the PunishmentYou recently purchase a new car that is said to be the most fuel efficient and safest vehicle on the market. After a few months of driving it you notice that this car is costing you more money on gasoline and upkeep than you thought, and occasionally the airbags deploy, the doors fall off, and the seatbelts unclip while you are driving. Would you keep this car that is not living up to its high expectations? Capital Punishment was said to be a cheaper alternative to life imprisonment; and it claimed to be an effective way to deter people from criminal acts. We have received a “lemon”; our new car, and the death penalty are not proving to be good investments. Its time to take them back to the dealership. The death penalty is not an effective way to resolve the crime problem in our country. The United States of America should abolish Capital Punishment because of the high cost, and its lack of deterrence.The United States should dispose of the death penalty due to the astronomical price it costs taxpayers to execute a prisoner. It is sometimes suggested that abolishing capital punishment is unfair to the taxpayer, as though life imprisonment were obviously more expensive than executions. If one takes into account all of the relevant costs, the reverse is true. The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment. A murderer trial normally takes much longer when the death penalty is at issue than when it is not. Litigation costs- including the time of the judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and court reporters are all borne by the taxpayer. Florida, with one of the nations largest death rows, is a prime example of the ridiculous cost of execution. The state has estimated that the true cost of each execution is approximately $3.2 million, or approximately six times the cost of a life imprisonment sentence. When Bryan Schlussel, FAU st...
