Introduction: The death penalty continues to be a controversial issue and will be debated in the United States for many years to come. What is the death penalty? The death penalty is a punishment of execution for someone who has caused serious crimes such as shooting to death during a kidnapping and killing a group of people ("death penalty"). Thesis Statement: Is it acceptable to take the life of another human being for a crime they committed? But ask yourself this question: Wouldn't killing someone else also make you murder? If you kill a criminal for the crimes he committed, aren't you just as guilty as they are? I believe it, as do many other fellow Americans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Topic sentence: The high costs that accompany capital punishment are a definite disadvantage when considering the comparison of this type of case with normal cases. Evidence and Citations: Death penalty cases are more expensive and take longer to resolve than non-death penalty cases. “Even when a trial was not required, cases in which the death penalty was sought still cost about twice as much as those in which the death penalty was not sought. The extra money is due to legal representation, increased security on death row and the costs needed to complete a trial like this. “The additional cost of confining an inmate to death row, compared to maximum security prisons where lifers without the possibility of parole usually serve their sentences, is $90,000 per year per inmate.” . With the current number of death row inmates in California (670), this would generate $63.3 million per year. Comment: This is important because it shows factual statistics on the cost of these cases compared to regular cases and how much money could be saved if the death penalty were eliminated. These statistics show that the thesis of my essay is correct because high costs are one of the reasons against the death penalty. Topic Sentence: Since the death penalty costs states and government so much, is there a way to put that money to better use? ? Evidence and citation: “Florida, for example, spent between $25 million and $50 million more per year on capital cases than if all murderers were sentenced to life without parole. » The comparison of how much money the state of Florida could save if it forgo capital punishment is staggering. If that was the amount of money that could be saved each year in one state, the entire country could benefit from stopping executions over a long period of time. Comment: It is clear that the United States could save much more money by eliminating capital punishment than by maintaining it. The national debt is always a hot topic and this offers a real solution to part of that problem. This statement shows that my thesis is correct, because this article shows the magnitude of the impact (in financial terms) of capital punishment in costing American states so much money in taxes. The millions that would be saved by abolishing this outdated punishment could be put to much better use, for example, on things like "education, roads, police and public safety programs, after-school programs, drug treatment and alcohol, child abuse prevention programschildren. , mental health services and services for victims of crime and their families. » Topic sentence: The death penalty is considered immoral by opponents of the death penalty. Killing a person who killed someone would undo the crime already committed. This sends a message to society to take an “eye for an eye” approach, leading to a never-ending cycle of violence. Second, the death penalty is considered a violation of the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause of the Bill of Rights. People opposed to the death penalty consider execution barbaric, whether by lethal injection, gas chamber, electric chair, hanging, etc. Third, there are people on death row who were executed and later discovered they were wrongly convicted. There is always room for error in the justice system and innocent people are sentenced to death. Hundreds of people are also exonerated from wrongful convictions. Unfortunately, once a person is executed, they are dead. There is no reverse method to cancel the process. “Before a prisoner is executed, every effort is made to ensure that no errors have been made during the trial. It is believed that the length of the appeal process allows any errors to be exposed. This has led to criminals ending up on death row for years, sometimes receiving a last-minute reprieve. Some consider this emotional whiplash to be cruel and unusual punishment, because it seems like the person is being teased by death. Opponents also argue that "the lengthy appeals process costs excessive amounts of money that could be better spent elsewhere." Proponents of the death penalty are also unhappy with the length of time it takes to execute criminals, because “family members of murder victims often seek to stop the execution of the person who killed their loved one – they feel that until justice has been served, they cannot move forward in life” (Friedman 12). Because it takes a long time to execute a person, families and friends cannot truly grieve and move on with their lives. It is for this reason, the effect that capital punishment has on innocent people, that the death penalty should be abolished. An extraordinary number of people, beyond just the accused, are negatively affected by executions. These people include the victims' families and friends, prison guards who work on death row, the executioner and even members of the jury. All are indirectly affected by the death penalty because they “experience an event like no other, an imminent death”. It's like witnessing an accident and feeling extreme guilt and sadness: even though you're not at fault, you always think about what you could have done differently or how you could have help more. With the death penalty, people experience the same thoughts because they feel responsible for putting someone to death even though they have done nothing other than what the court or their job told them to do. request. In many cases, research has shown that these people blame other parties to deny their role in sentencing people to death. “Juries blame the judge, the justice system, or the victim’s family for their verdicts, judges blame juries, and victims’ families blame judges.” Topic sentence: According to supporters of the death penalty, the death penalty can reduce the rates of heinous crimes such as rape and murder. Comment: However, there is no real evidence that the death penalty.