Economics: Why Death Penalty Should be Abolished? Background Information of the Death Penalty, Deep Analysis, DPICÂ Report

Death Penalty Economics
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Introduction
Capital punishment, also referred as the death penalty, is the lawful infliction of death as a form of punishment for an offense. Executions Crimes resulting in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offenses (Alexa, 2012). Death penalty has been one of the most debated and controversial topic across the United States since the beginning of the nation’s history. The purpose of this study is to explore the various aspects involved when a person is convicted for death penalty with an aim of adding important information to policy makers and the public on the continued debate of whether death penalty should be abolished or used.
Background Information of the Death Penalty
Michigan was the first state in the United States to ban the death penalty, on May 18, 1846. During the Furman v. Georgia case that happened from 1972-1976, the state declared death penalty to be unconstitutional. However, during the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia case death penalty was once again permitted under certain circumstances. Currently, death penalty is permitted by 35 states plus the US military and Government's. 15 states plus the District of Columbia do not permit death sentence as a form of punishment (Cromie & Zott, 2013). California has the largest number of inmates on death row among the states where the death penalty is permitted. Texas on the other hand has been the most active state in executing offenders sentenced for death penalty with an estimated rate of 1/3 of all executions. A total of
1, 178 executions has already been carried out with 3297 inmates on death row currently waiting for execution (Fagin, 2014).
Why the Death Penalty Should be Abolished
First, death penalty does not stop the crimes that are happening. I believe that death penalty should be warranted in certain circumstances such as in terrorism bombings, pack rape, serious drugs and murder cases among others. However, the most effective is to put in place a better legal system from a strong Police force to the laws imposed. Horrible crimes such as murder affects not only the victim but also their friends and family. Murder also affects the communities at large. Imposing a death penalty on people who are involved in violent crimes may make potential offenders feel unsafe and afraid. That being said, two wrongs do not make a right. Imposing death penalties reflects more on where a country is as a civilization.
Death penalty portrays a country as using violence as a form of punishment against violent people which is likely to beget more violence. Research shows that 27 years after Canada abolished the death penalty, it has recorded 44% drop in murders (Cromie & Zott, 2013). In addition, such punishment does nothing to bring back the lost life of the victim nor does it alleviate the pain suffered by the family of the victim. As noted earlier, development of an effective Police Force and Judicial System reforms must first be taken care of before progressing with other issues including the death penalty. With the kind of unreliable justice system that we have currently, too many people who were innocent have been executed in the past. If such people were given life in prison, they...