Texas is ranked the highest state in the country for the
number of death penalty executions. So why has Texas declined to send a
convicted killer to the Texas death row this year when it was the number one state
in executions? Some attorneys mentioned that the death penalty is no longer a
go-to method that prosecutors once regarded it to be. As a matter of fact, statistics
show that the death penalty cost almost three times the amount it costs for someone to be
imprisoned at the maximum sentence. Also, there have been several wrongful
convictions of people that were on death row. If the jury refuses to use the
death penalty as a sentence, how will this affect the crime rate, victim’s
families and even our society?
The state prisons are becoming more corrupt with employees being lured into relationships with criminals. Employees are also threatened by inmates, leaving them with no choice but to provide assistance to them. For instance, the incident that happened in New York with two convicted killers had a prison worker help them escape. As Americans, especially family of the victim’s, we should not have to worry or fear that a killer will walk the streets again. If this is the case, why would we want to place more convicts in prison for doing a brutal crime, which are overcrowded to begin with. I know the death penalty cost so much more money, but someone who kills another person should not have the option to potentially walk the streets again. People may also be worried that they convicted the wrong person but if there is physical and testimonial evidence there should be no reason why someone shouldn’t get the death penalty if they have committed a first-degree murder. Texas should start implementing the death penalty more often, in order to provide justice for victim’s families, as well as to keep a rigorous judicial system.
My classmate posted in Blogger that Texas should use death penalty more often. She argues that death penalty is a valid means of detering crimes and giving justice to the victims. Another argument of the post is that in the worst cases the imprisoned murderers would bribe the jail for assistance to escape.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the current use of death penalty in Texas works fine and it should not be used more frequently.
The United States has the most executions among western countries each year and the majority are carried out in Texas. We learned in GOVT2306 class that Texas' early history justified harsh punishment on criminals, which I totally agree with. However, simply increasing the use of death penalty does not solve crimes. My home country also favors the use of death penalty on capital crimes. In fact, the executions in China per year exceed the total number of executions in the USA since 1980s. My country imposes death penalty on capital murders, dealing heroins and involving in terrorism. Recently, our public even proposed death penalty on human trafficking. But the frequent use of death penalty does not lower crime rate in my country. In many cases, death penalty could make criminals more brutal. If the criminals were faced with the capital punishment, they would spare no mercy on the victims. Another example is illegal drugs. In China, selling 50g of methamphetamine is surely punishable by death penalty. This law does deter some people from dealing drugs. But high risk comes with high profit and the drug lords are still importing illegal drugs through the border.
On the other hand, death penalty is irreversible if the inmate was wrongly convicted and executed. This is the major difference between death penalty and life sentence without parole. In my opinion, the death penalty in the USA is used with considerable caution. A death row inmate usually stays in prison for 10 years before the sentence is carried out. The long appeal process makes death penalty very slow and difficult to be carried out so that any wrongly convicted inmate has enough time to overturn the sentence. Although the justice seems too late for the victims' family, we should bear in mind that the justice system is not only designed to revenge for the victims, but it must also assure that no citizen is punished for something he/she has not done. If we increased the use of death penalty, there will be many appeals overlooked by the courts, hence increasing the risk of executing the wrong person. Unfortunately, my country used to carry out speedy execution after conviction (in the 1980s), which resulted in many deaths of innocent inmates.
For these reasons, I believe that the cautious use of death penalty in Texas and the USA works fine. It prevents two extreme cases. One is no punishment on capital crimes like Europe (the Norwegian gunner who killed 30 people was merely punished by life imprisonment). The other is the greater risk of executing the wrong people like China. Last but not least, the original post seems a bit sentimental when expressing the support of death penalty. It's true that I'm also pro-death penalty like the author. Personally I would like to see all murderers and terrorists put to death, but I more firmly believe that a good justice system should not be swayed by public anger or the sentiment of avenge
In “Implement the Death Penalty” written by my classmate Alyssa Wilkins she shares with us her opinion on the death penalty and the amount of times it is utilized here in Texas. During her commentary she shares with us that she believes it should be used more and I agree.
ReplyDeleteRecently just this week, in the news, we heard about the trial involving James Holmes. James Holmes was responsible of the massive shooting that occurred back in July 20, 2012 in the city of Aurora, Colorado that resulted in many deaths and injuries. After 3 years this tragic story came to an end but it didn’t have the outcome many had hoped for. Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without parole instead of receiving the death penalty like many had hoped for. My classmate states that outcomes like this will only encourage future crimes instead of stopping them and I agree. Lets think, if you knew the outcome of your actions wouldn’t you be more prone to going through with them?
During her article she shared the argument that some people have stating that it takes 3 times more money to utilize the death penalty in comparison to being able to maintain a prisoner for a life long sentence. BUT along with that argument she also includes the increase in number of prisoners and corruption but I would also like to add the risk of something going wrong. For example the also recent news of the Cartel Leader, El Chapo Guzman where he escaped from prison and is now free again! Can we just imagine how much is being spent to capture him again? Maybe the death penalty is expensive and tragic in itself but sometimes necessary.