by Elizabeth Kells

Created on: December 29, 2009   Last Updated: December 30, 2009

I do see the death penalty as being just.  I do not believe in an eye for an eye, however, I  believe in saving future victims.  I also believe in the ethics of Utilitarianism, which is about the judgment of action based on consequences of said action. 

According to Justice Crime and Ethics, the utilitarian belief is that, “we ought to consider all parties affected by the action, and calculate the pain and pleasure of everyone who is influenced.”  (Braswell C., 2008) The murders of innocent people make no one happy except maybe the one who committed the murders.

The offender being sent to death might not bring about joy for those around, but it will bring safety and relief. It would be morally wrong to allow a bringer of death to enjoy life at the expense of others. It is true that these people if not put to death will be living their lives in prison. Is it fair that they are free in the prison to abuse, rape, and or murder other inmates?

It would be the murderer's happiness in exchange for the fear and pain of many others. Many believe that the death penalty might also stop others from making the wrong choice. However, many do not see the death penalty as a deterrent but studies have been done that say otherwise, such as the following by Mocan and Gittings. 

” In all specifications, the coefficient of the execution rate is negative and statistically significant, indicating that an increase in the risk of execution lowers the homicide rate. Because the annual average time between a sentencing and removal from death is about five years, the removal rate is deflated by the number death sentences five years prior.” 

I believe the following statement says it best.

"If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call."

John McAdams - Marquette University/Department of Political Science, on deterrence

Now, I would like to hit on the reasons that people are against the death penalty and what could be done or is being done to deal with the issues.

Cruelty is a word that is heard quite often when referring to the death penalty. There are things that can be done to keep cruelty from continuing to be an issue. The first thing that needs to be done

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