
Between the years of 1977 and 2008 1,188 people were executed due to the use of capitol punishment (OADP). Several countries influenced America's use of the death penalty. Britain was known for their prominent use of capitol punishment and in turn influenced America the most (Death Penalty in America). The first recorded execution in America was Captain George Kendall in Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1908. Kendall was found guilty while living in America and being a spy for Spain (Death Penalty in America).

Laws began to change as more and more people changed their views regarding the death penalty. Eventually each colony had a different view on the topic and how they would partake in it. (OAPD). Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason in 1846 (Death Penalty in America). As more people acknowledged the harm executions create, each state began to change their views and laws regarding the death penalty were often changing. When the topic became more controversial the United States changed the way executions were made as a whole. The US has come a long way in changing the death penalty from the humiliation of public hangings to costly and less explicit lethal injections (Editorial Board). Many people still question the morality of the government intentionally putting someone to death and how laws could be altered to make things more fair. With more people questioning the government we see more and more changes in the right direction to abolishing the death penalty.  

Gregg v. Georgia (1975) was the first Supreme Court case to question the morality of capitol punishment.  Gregg was put on death row and argued that execution went against the death penalty. The trial went to the Supreme Court and Gregg was later found innocent and released from death row (Cornell Law School). The Supreme Court ruled that there would be separate hearings to determine if the defendant would be given the death penalty or life in prison (GREGG v. GEROGIA). This was changed in order to make certain that the punishment for the crime was fair and correct for the defendant.  Now when a defendant is sentenced the death penalty there is automatically an appeal for that crime to ensure that the defendant deserves to be put to death and has actually committed the crime at hand (Death Penalty in America). Because of the longer trial process we see less people being put on death row each year (Editorial Board). Many believe this is because executions were never the appropriate action for the crimes to begin with. 

 Most executions today involve the use of capitol punishment and lethal injections to commit murder (Fulbright). Many say that this is correcting the way that the government kills criminals because it takes away the aspect of pain and embarrassment within capitol punishment. Diann Tierney states, "Good is defined as moral, upright, virtuous, wholesome and blameless. None of these terms can be associated with capital punishment. If our society seeks to be good, we should end the practice for that reason alone" (Rust-Tierney).

Now the question to be asked is "Does the state and federal government deserve to kill those who they have already put in prison?".  Though some say capital punishment is necessary, the death penalty creates emotional, economic, judicial, and human rights issues, there for I believe the death penalty is no longer applicable to the United States judicial system. 

Many believe the death penalty helps grieving families heal from the crimes that have hurt them emotionally. The thought that that a criminal, who has put harm into the community, will being put to death is supposed to create a form of relief for those who have been hurt in some way by that crime (Spitzer). Studies show that the prolonged executions do not help the family of the victim's heal from the crime. The longer trials create a constant reminder of the pain that the family has been feeling since the crime was committed.  Many families have stated that having the knowledge that the criminal that hurt them was executed created no since of relief. The only thing that made them feel better was becoming involved in the community and making others aware of the bad things that are happening in the world (Johnson). With the longer trials creates more publicity for the court case and more pain for the victims (Death Penalty).  Most cases that send defendants to death row or life in prison naturally produce a large amount of news articles and solicitation from news companies (Spitzer). Families and friends that are involved with these cases find it hard to catch a break and forget about the crime, which in turn makes it hard to move on with their lives. When a defendant is given life imprisonment the trials tend to be shorter due to the fact that there is no longer the automatic appeal.  It would be more beneficial for the family if the criminal was given life imprisonment instead of the death penalty which would create shorter the trials and lessen the amount of time spent worrying about the outcome. The government would then be able to use the excess money that is no longer used on trial time and put it towards counseling for grieving families as well as the criminals who are now learning new lessons. This would allow for the criminal to constantly be reminded of the pain they caused and allow them to feel a sense of regret for the crime they committed each day. 

Less taxpayer money would be required to put a criminal in prison for life than to execute that same criminal. The cost to execute a person using lethal injections is growing more and more each day (Fulbright). Studies show that the cost of giving a defendant life in prison is two to five times less expensive than putting that same person on death row (Death Penalty). This is due to the fact that death penalty trials are twenty times more expensive than trials that keep a criminal incarcerated for life. The money adds up when taking into account the endless appeals, additional required procedures, and legal processes that drag the conviction out to what seems like a never-ending trial (Fulbright). Large amounts of time and money are wasted on the trials that put criminals on death row. It is stated that the Oregon Judicial Department alone would save $2.3 million annually if the death penalty were eliminated. It is also estimated that $9 million total would be saved in the prosecution and defense costs of the state and countries (OADP). The amount of money going towards capital punishment is outrageous and a lot of this money comes from people that aren't even aware that the trial is occurring. That means everyday taxpayers (Spitzer). When abolishing the death penalty, taxpayer's money could go to more beneficial uses than execution. 

It takes a great deal of the courts time when putting someone on death row. Much of this excessive time is created from the multiple appeals that come when giving a death sentence. Within judicial law there has to be a hearing to prove the accused guilty, then another to determine the punishment given to the criminal, and several more to make sure that death row is the right punishment for the new found criminal. Each and every trial is different depending on the type of case it is and how the jury wants to handle it (Death Penalty in America). When having a person's life at risk there is really no way around all of the time that it takes to ensure the right person will be receiving a lethal injection. Its hard to imagine that everyday people are deciding whether or not someone should be put to death. The United States court systems tend to get extremely backed up when dealing with these cases. The large amount of appeals that go into the process for the death penalty make the courts very busy and it becomes hard to fit all of the cases in to an everyday work schedule (Messerli). All of the appeals, hearings, and briefs not only take up the time in the courtrooms and facilities, but also take up the time of the judges and attorneys. This makes it harder for these important people to spend time on everyday crimes that are looked over daily. Many believe that is small crimes were taken more seriously those criminals wouldn't think they can get away with the large crimes that end in a death sentence. If giving a criminal life imprisonment instead of death row would save everyone money and time, then why would the United States ever use capital punishment with the excuse of it benefitting our country?

The eight amendment prohibits the act of cruel and unusual punishment towards all United States citizens (Fulbright).  Many believe that capitol punishment falls under what is considered to be cruel and unusual punishment. During the1960's is when citizens began to question if the death penalty was considered unconstitutional due to the eighth amendment (Death Penalty). While fighting against the death penalty many still question whether or not executions are constitutional. Many still say that the death penalty is too cruel to be constitutionally correct and see the hypocrisy of the government killing United States citizen's everyday. In past Supreme Court cases it was ruled that capitol punishment is not going against the eighth amendment as long as the execution was proportional to the crime committed (Cornell Law School). After this was said many began to question whether there was a bold enough line as to when a crime was worth being executed for. The act of the death penalty treats members of the human race as non-humans. It is seen as barbaric to allow state sanctioned murder before a crowd of people in America's eyes. The question of personal privacy comes into question because of the public viewing that are offered while one is being executed. These viewings are open to all of the public, not just family and friends (Spitzer). The United States government condemns people like Ahamadinejad, and Kim Jong II when they murder their own citizens (Messerli). When the United States uses the death penalty and defends executions, what makes our government any different than the others?  

Many that defend the death penalty say that it creates fear for other criminals and prevents them from committing similar crimes. Capital punishment doesn't alter the amount of crimes committed any more than life in prison (Spitzer). Some think that life in prison is a more harsh punishment than the death penalty. Being put to death can be seen as an easy way out and a way to forget about the crimes that a criminal has committed. States that take part in executions and support death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates than those who have abolished capitol punishment already (Death Penalty). The south accounts for eighty percent of the United States executions and has the highest regional murder rates (Death Penalty in America). When receiving the death penalty the criminal isn't feeling the pain that they put into the world. They are simply escaping from the hate that they have already created. Many defend the death penalty with the catch phrase "eye for an eye," what they don't realize is that killing someone who has killed someone close to you is simply continuing the cycle (Johnson). The American government should stop the deaths at one and abolish the death penalty.

 With the death penalty as an option, there is still a possibility to execute an innocent person. The court did change their way of prosecuting someone that is going to be put on death row by creating the automatic appeal for the defendant, but there is still a small chance that the court system could be wrong. The justice system in America is by no means perfect. We find new problems and mistakes within our judicial system each and every day (Fulbright). If the person were put to death there wouldn't be another chance for that last appeal to find the defendant innocent. There have been several documented cases where DNA testing showed that innocent people were put to death by the government (Death Penalty in America). It is a scary thought to know that our government spends so much time trying to protect innocent people while they have innocent people being put to death and letting the criminals roam free. Overall the death penalty puts innocent peoples lives at risk. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976, 138 innocent men and women have been released from death row. Some of those people were released within minutes of being executed (Death Penalty). It has been proven that one in seven people that are put on death row will later be found innocent. Some of those will be let free before being put to death while others will be found innocent too late (Fulbright). That number is too high when putting someone's life at risk. If the death penalty were eliminated then there wouldn't be a chance that the government would be murdering innocent people everyday. 

Abolishing the death penalty would decrease the economic, social, judicial, and human rights issues throughout the United States. The death penalty wrongly gives the United States government the right to take a human life, which is something they preach against everyday. The death penalty is becoming a challenge for the government to partake in because many people have stopped producing and selling the drugs and questioning the morality of it (Editorial Board). Capitol punishment has caused many controversies within the country. The United States government should throw out the death penalty and only resort to life in prison. If that were the case, criminals would still have a punishment with no residual ramifications. 

I believe that a step in the right direction and a start to eliminating capitol punishment is making sure that the people being executed have actually committed the crime. This means that before a criminal could be put on death row they would have to confess to the crime at hand. Statistically speaking, this would lower the amount of executions by 14% and ensure that not one innocent person is being killed. The government would then be able to later change the law and create a less harsh way of punishing criminals while allowing them to learn from their mistakes. 

