Capital Punishment

The next topic I will tackle is Capital Punishment. Capital Punishment has become a dividing point in America in the last 30 plus years. Much like abortion, this issue inflames most audiences and can lead to some tension in discussion, leading most to keep their opinions to themselves. I find capital punishment to be a great topic of discussion and I hope to get that out of this post.

My belief is that capital punishment is something that we should end immediately. Not only are there uncertainties concerning the evidence used to convict some on death row, there is also a rising concern about police work in some of these cases. High profile cases are a great stress on police forces and can lead some overzealous officers to use very circumstantial evidence in order to make a case against a defendant who may be completely innocent. Sometimes we are quick to judge and lax on checking the information completely. The Innocence Project, a group who focuses on wrongful convictions, has proven that 36 death row inmates were innocent based on DNA found at the crimes they supposedly committed. The last 2 that I read about had been in prison for 22 and 34 years respectively. Robbed of a chance at life by overzealous police work. This is reason one to end capital punishment.

Second on my list of reasons is the cost of maintaining death row inmates through execution. Most would think that the cost of executing a capital case would be smaller than housing a prisoner for life. This is absolutely false. Inmates are guaranteed the right to appeal. These appeals can drag out for 10 years or more. Along with these appeals, are attorney cost, both prosecution and defense, and investigation cost. The numbers are quite staggering. On average, the cost to prosecute and house a prisoner for life is around $500,000. The same cost for capital case is around $2.5 million. This does not seem like much but when you add the number of executions since reinstatement in 1977, 1100, and the current number on death row , around 3,300, it really adds up. $11 trillion is the total cost of capital cases since 1977. If those inmates were prosecuted and housed for life the cost would have been just $2.2 billion. This leaves a difference of $8.8 trillion dollars that could have been spent on other programs. This could have meant a bump in education funding, money to help with healthcare reform, or more federal money for states that are struggling. Maybe a better use for our money than using it for capital punishment.

My third and final reason is moral belief. Raised as a Christian, I was taught that forgiveness was an important part of Christian life and belief. I understand that some see the acts as gruesome and unforgivable and that those that committed these acts deserve no forgiveness, but who are we to judge the ones that have committed the acts. I agree that these acts are terrible but I also see that being put to death allows that person to escape the real punishment for his acts. The inmate having to live in confinement everyday for the rest of his life must continually think about his actions, deal with the emotions everyday while never being free again. That seems to be punishment more than allowing them to die by execution would ever be. It is my hope that one day we no longer sponsor murder by our states, but we sponsor true punishment such as life without parole which means never leaving prison again. This may not rehabilitate, but it would inflict sufficient enough punishment to those faced with it while saving time and money for other programs in our government.