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The concept of the death penalty is one I struggle with. In general, I'm against it, but when it comes to mass murderers such as Ted Bundy and John Gacy, I can't claim to feel any sympathy over the fact that they were executed. I also wonder if I would feel differently if a member of my family or a close friend were murdered.

Having said that, I still think the death penalty is fundamentally wrong. Additionally, it definitely isn't an effective crime deterrent, for the following reasons:

Those who carry out murders and other brutal crimes might or might not plan their actions beforehand. When crime is premeditated, the criminal normally focuses on avoiding discovery, capture, and sentence. The risk of even the strictest retribution will not deter those who do not believe they will ever get caught.

The majority of capital crimes are carried out while intoxicated on drugs or alcohol or in moments of immense emotional trauma , both of which are times when the perpetrator is incapable of rational thought. In such cases, brutality is inflicted by people unmindful of the cost to themselves as well as those around them.

A penalty can only be a successful deterrent if it is always and punctually engaged. Capital punishment cannot be administered to meet these circumstances. The number of first-degree murderers who are sentenced to death is small, and of this faction, an even lesser number of people are actually put to death. Furthermore, obligatory death row sentencing is deemed unlawful, and a substantial time between the sentencing and the actual implementation is necessary, given the bureaucratic safeguards which are mandatory in capital cases.

The majority of evidence indicates that the death penalty is no more effective than incarceration in deterring homicides. It's true that imprisonment costs the tax payer more, but this problem could be solved by forcing inmates to work a trade while in prison in order to earn their own keep.

The death penalty doesn't offer a resolution to the crime problem in the US. The questions concerning the fundamental causes of crime stay unanswered.

The implementation of capital punishment could essentially augment the ensuing rate of criminal homicide. Using the death penalty may undermine the concept that taking the lives of other people is wicked.

Capital punishment may even be a provocation to commit violent crimes. After all, one might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.

In neighboring states - one that uses the death penalty and the other that doesn't - the state that utilizes capital punishment doesn't consistently have lower murder rate.

Ultimately, the sentence of a lifetime of incarceration with no chance of parole is just as efficient a sentence as the death penalty, but a far less cruel one.

Resource: The American Civil Liberties Union.

Learn more about this author, Rosa Radikalis.
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