     America needs the death penalty simply because people need revenge. Execution and the need for vengeance reflects the barbaric nature of American society, and capital punishment should be removed and replaced with a less expensive option, such as life in prison with no chance of parole. Capital punishment is definitely a flawed system in America which should be fixed or removed from society entirely. Many families of crime victims claim that the whole capital punishment process is much harder on the family and requires a lot of money and time (Economist).

     Unless major changes are made to the execution process, life in prison without parole should be the appropriate punishment for high level crimes. The execution process tends to be time consuming which extends the amount of suffering the victim's family must endure. The process needs to be quicker in order to lessen the family's suffering and reduce the cost. Rather than letting these prisoners live for years after their sentences, they should be executed within a year max. Another option is to remove capital punishment from the justice system completely.

     The victim's family should be given the decision to either let the murderer or rapist live or be executed. The families are the ones who are truly suffering the most in these situations which is why they should be given the choice of deciding the future of their relative's murderer or rapist. 

     Prisoners that commit crimes such as murder, rape, and child molestation should be placed in prison with no chance of parole. Furthermore, they should be placed in isolation for the majority of their time spent in jail. This gives them the privilege of life; however, they are not allowed to enjoy their time left. Unfortunately, complete isolation would be just as barbaric as execution. While some people may say they do not deserve life at all, this forces them to suffer without making America look like a bunch of blood hungry savages. 

     More and more people are starting to come to the realization that eye for an eye punishment should not be present in a modern day society which claims to be civilized. Death may be considered much harsher than life in prison to some people; however, certain restrictions could be given to the high level crime prisoners which would increase the amount of suffering endured during their time in conviction. Isolation and a limit on food could be a possible solution; however, there are many laws preventing this from happening. One could compare this form of imprisonment to torture; however, these prisoners are barely worthy of life to begin with. Life in prison without parole is still a horrible punishment and chances are the other prisoners will end up executing said prisoner themselves.

       Other countries treat executions differently when compared to America. China is relatively secretive about their executions while other countries crucify their prisoners in public places. (CNN). America may not broadcast their executions for the entire world to see, but they are not at all secretive about the process. Compared to other countries, America's death penalty system may seem more civilized, but the fact that execution is an option in the justice system further proves the true nature of the process and American society. 

    The majority of articles regarding the death penalty and possible solutions focus on the aftermath of these horrible crimes. However, people never consider the idea that many crimes can be prevented if children are not raised under traumatizing circumstances. Similar to what David Dow said in his TED Talk back in 2012. Dow provides an incredibly unique perspective on the death penalty. Perhaps, precautions need to be taken in order to prevent these horrible crimes rather than worrying about the punishment afterwards (Dow). If steps are taken to ensure that American children are not raised under hostile circumstances, then, the death penalty will not be necessary in the justice system. Eventually, this form of punishment will die off if precautions are taken into consideration. 

     Americans tend to assume they live in the greatest country in the world. Other countries are economically successful as well, but Americans still believes they are the greatest. Compared to other countries, America is not actually the greatest country. America has one of the highest execution rates alongside countries such as China and Russia which are two places Americans tend to condemn due to their political views and relatively violent nature (CNN). With this knowledge, America appears to be hypocritical. Of course other countries handle their executions differently. Some countries even crucify their prisoners (CNN), but this does not mean America should follow the leader in this situation rather they should be setting an example. Apparently, one out of 24 prisoners on death row are not guilty which is an alarming percentage and a prime example of the flaws in the justice system (Daniel).

     Moral reasons are not the only problem with the death penalty. Capital punishment is far more expensive than life in prison considering the time frame. In the long run, life in prison would be more expensive; however, considering how long some prisoners are kept on death row, capital punishment can cost more in certain situations.

     Not only is there an abundance of flaws in the justice system in general, but racism is very present as well. An African American is much more likely to be sent to death row over a white man. People like to believe that racism is dying, but racism is still very present especially in the justice system (Cohen). White privilege is another flaw of capital punishment.

     Prisoners tend to stay on death row for extended periods of time before the actual execution which is a waste of tax payer money and causes the victim's family to suffer even more due to extensive time spent in court constantly reminding them of their lost loved one. Prisoners could possibly be executed by other prisoners when sentenced to life without parole which is far less expensive. If laws were to be altered, then placing prisoners in isolation could be the new form of capital punishment.

     The majority of people on death row do not have enough money to actually fight a court case. The people who can afford good lawyers tend to dodge a death sentence while the lower class criminals are incapable of affording a lawyer who can beat a death sentence. Even though they only make up thirteen percent of the population, the majority of people on death row which reflects the fact that the system is racist and that a large portion of the lower class is made up of African Americans.

     Cultures all over the world seem to have a desire for revenge. When a person kills or rapes another person, people want the criminal to receive the same punishment which is why the death penalty is so prevalent in society. Morally, execution would be considered wrong, but people in American society and societies around the world simply crave vengeance. People tend to believe that life in prison costs more than the death penalty. Over the course of time, life in prison may cost more; however, keeping prisoners alive on death row costs more than placing prisoners in the general population per year (Economist). Furthermore, prisoners stay on death row for many years. Mass murderers and pedophiles are typically despised by other prisoners and in many cases the prisoners end up executing these people themselves. There have been many other examples of flawed executions in the past. For example, one man was left to die slowly in a gas chamber while another inmate survived for forty-five minutes after a lethal injection and then he finally succumbed to a heart attack (Miller). Some people could argue that this violates the eighth amendment which bans "cruel and unusual punishment".

      Execution is simply not worth the taxpayer's money and should not be an option in modern day civilized society. While other countries may be much harsher in terms of execution, America needs to set an example for the rest of the world. Since preventing murder and rape is a much more difficult task, the death penalty should first be removed from the justice system entirely which will ultimately alter the nature of American society from barbaric to more civilized. Prisoners are released from death row frequently and one out of 24 inmates on death row are innocent (Cohen). Some people believe that the death penalty is actually dying because people are starting to realize that killing people, even those that commit horrible crimes, is morally wrong. In fact, the percentage of people in favor of capital punishment has dropped from 80% to 60% since the 1990s (New York Times). One man stated that handing down a death sentence while on jury duty left him guilt ridden (Economist). Executions have actually been on a decline since 1999 according to a recent statistic (CNN). This is due to the fact that people are starting to feel guilty about deciding the fate of another human being.

     Eventually, the death penalty will be removed from the justice system simply because people are starting to recognize the fact that execution is morally wrong and gruesome. People will always have a desire for revenge, but vengeance can still be achieved through imprisonment. People are scared by the idea that the person that murdered or raped their family member are still out there and living, and people tend to feel relieved when they know this person has been removed from the earth entirely. While America may not publicize executions, the fact that this form of punishment still exists in a society which claims to be civilized is ridiculous. 

     Certain states seem to be crueler than others in terms of executions, and some states simply have major flaws in their systems. For example, Oklahoma has several cases that demonstrate flaws in the system. Many of Oklahoma's death row inmates have succumbed to incredibly violent deaths due to negligence. A few prisoners were given a lethal injection which caused some inmates to scream that their bodies were on fire (Atlantic). California also has many problems regarding capital punishment. There is a significant delay between sentencing and execution in California and out of the 900 people who have been executed in this state, only thirteen have been executed since 1978 (Fox). This is another prime example of how flawed the system is in general. The taxpayers are paying for these people to be kept alive on death row for many years. If the execution process was swifter, then there would not be as large of a problem. Furthermore, if prisoners are being kept on death row for such an extended period, then they mine as well be placed into general population with the other inmates rather than having Americans waste such a large amount of money keeping them on death row. Even if they are going to be executed in the future, they should still be placed in general population for the time being rather than placing them in a high level facility, which would ultimately save money in the long run. 

     The purpose of the justice system is to protect the law abiding civilians from the evil people who perform these despicable acts against humanity. While execution may be one option to complete this task, the government still has other options at their disposal which would achieve the same goal. The prisoner still suffers either way and vengeance can still be achieved. However, no matter what, the death penalty is still uncanny and should be removed or altered. One possible solution could be that the decision is made by the family of the victim.

      Some people do not like knowing that their relative's murderer or rapist is still alive, while other people simply do not believe death should ever be the answer, no matter how horrible the crime committed.  Lawyers tend to be more expensive for death row cases and the entire process is more expensive than life in prison depending on the time span (Usborne). Life in prison is the logical option due to moral reasons and the extensive cost of the entire execution process. Imprisonment for life is a terrible fate, but death is what everybody fears and is considered a much harsher punishment. Some may argue that these prisoners do not deserve life, but the decision to let someone live or die is not up to the government, they can however remove these criminals from the general population and place them in a correctional facility. Ultimately, the fate of these prisoners would be left to the other inmates in this facility if these laws were put into place.

