Persuassive Essay Against The Death Penalty

Stop The Madness: Killing does not solve Killing

The sentence of capital punishment is an expensive barbaric alternative for punishing a criminal. Where does the hostility and ignorance stop once it begins? Murder is unaccepted by society, yet people seem to pacify themselves by killing criminals. Is that not considered to be murder? Sentencing a criminal to death does not solve the questions and problems that are left behind. Parents will still cry for a child that is never coming home. Mourning families will still carry a never-ending heartache, and the criminal no longer has to pay for the consequences of their actions. The only people left to pay are taxpayers. According to The International Debate Education Association (IDEA), “Capital punishment costs more than life without parole.” Studies in the US show that capital cases, from arrest to execution, cost between one million and seven million dollars because of a never-ending succession of appeals. A case resulting in imprisonment costs around $500,000 (IDEA).

Does an offender even think about the final outcome of their sentence before they commit a crime? Do aggressive criminals stop to think of their own fate while they choose the fate of somebody else? Before execution was legalized, many states felt that having the death penalty would lower violent crime rates. Unfortunately that is not the case. According to IDEA, “Higher execution rates can actually increase violent crime rates. California averaged six executions a year from 1952 to 1967, and had twice the murder rate than the period from 1968 until 1991 when there were no executions.” Obviously criminals do not take their punishment into consideration before they act out in violence.

An unlawful person that commits brutal crimes, such as murder, should not be considered for rehabilitation. These offenders are mentally unstable and should be treated accordingly. What a nightmare for victims who must live with the fear that vicious criminals will be roaming our streets, and living in our neighborhoods. There is no faith left in a judicial system that offers too many opportunities for repeat offenders to slip through the cracks. In order to reassure ourselves of the protection we deserve; we opt to kill murderers, and keep them off the streets for good.

During trials, some convicted criminals are determined to be insane when in reality all fierce offenders are insane. How does one judge sane from insane? As defined in The Online Medical Dictionary, “Sane means not deranged…acting rationally…mentally sound…possessing a rational mind…having or showing sound judgment.” Does a woman who would drown her own children demonstrate sound judgment? Does a man who would randomly kill innocent victims display a rational mind? Any person that takes the life of another human being is deranged. A human being that does not know the value of life does not possess a rational mind. Vicious criminals are not normal individuals; they are unbalanced and far from being sane. Insane is defined in The Online Medical Dictionary as, “Being very foolish…absurd…an insane plan or attempt…causing insanity or madness.” How can anyone think that brutal criminals do not cause madness and insanity in court systems, communities, victim’s families, and even families of their own? These criminals should be sent to insane asylums where they belong, not to death row. Sentencing an individual that is not mentally healthy to death is no better than the crime of a murderer itself.

Aside from executing the mentally insane, the United States sentences the death penalty to the mentally retarded. According to The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), “Currently, there are more than 300 people on death row known to have mental retardation.” Generally, people suffering from mental retardation are eager to please others. This means that they will often answer yes to questions even when they don’t fully understand what they are being asked (NCADP). Quite often, their incompetence leads to false confessions. Virginia executed Morris Odell Mason, who had been diagnosed as mentally retarded, in 1985. On his way to the execution chamber, he told another inmate, “When I get back, I’m gonna show him how I can play basketball as good as he can.” Mason clearly did not understand his impending fate (NCADP). Another example of a criminal suffering from mental retardation was Jerome Bowden. Bowden did sign a statement confessing to murder, but only because the police told him it would be to his benefit. It was on the sole basis