Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment has been a topic of discussion in this country for many years because many western countries have outlawed its use. Even many states have outlawed capital punishment for instance Massachusetts however the federal government still uses the death penalty. Even though the death penalty is part of correctional system there are many constraints on its use and methods. The methods used must not be cruel and unusual as stated in the eighth amendment. There are many moral arguments against the use of capital punishment. There is a Supreme Court case currently under review where two Kentucky death row inmates are appealing their death sentence under the eighth amendment saying that lethal injection is cruel and unusual. Many people feel that other death sentences should not be carried out until the Supreme Court makes its ruling. (Sherman, 2007)

Many people believe its is just not morally right for the state to execute inmates; that no one should be allowed to take a life even if the inmate did murder someone they should be held in prison for life not executed. Also many feel that executing inmates makes American society just as bad as the criminals who have committed murder because now the state is taking someone’s life. Some see this as hypocritical because the state is punishing someone for murder and in turn murdering them. However most citizens when questioned on whether or not they want the death penalty the majority is still in favor of the use of the death penalty. (Sherman, 2007)

Another big moral argument against the death penalty especially for inmates that have been on death row for a long time is the argument that there is the possibility that they are innocent. Many inmates have been cleared of crimes due to new technology like DNA testing which did not exist 20 years ago. Anti-capital punishments advocates say that due to the numerous cases of innocent inmates on death row that the death penalty should be illegal because that is that last thing anyone wants is to execute an innocent person. At least if a person is convicted of a crime they did not commit they still have their life and hope that they will be exonerated.

Money is also a moral argument against capital punishment because many studies have shown that it cost taxpayers far more money to execute death row inmates than it would cost taxpayers to have the inmates imprisoned for life with out the possibility of parole. This has taken up funds in states that have the death penalty that could otherwise be used for rehabilitation programs, juvenile programs and many others programs that could prevent further and future crime. Some of the things that run up the costs of executing an inmate are costs of prosecution and defense of the case and all the appeals of the sentence that will follow, also salaries of all the court personnel for all the appeals. One study done in New Jersey has estimated that the state since 1983 has spent $253 million on death penalty cases. This is an average of $11 million spent a year on all these cases. And not one person has been executed in the state during this time span so all this money is being spent and the criminal are not even being executed. During this time there have been 197 capital cases and sixty of those have been death penalty and fifty of those cases were reversed. A former county prosecutor, Michael Murphy, was asked his opinion of this study he stated “If you were to ask me how $11 million a year could best protect the people of New Jersey, I would tell you by giving the law enforcement community more resources. I'm not interested in hypotheticals or abstractions, I want the tools for law enforcement to do their job, and $11 million can buy a lot of tools." This money would greatly benefit the public’s