Is Capital Punishment Practical?

                                             Religious communities across the globe all have their beliefs on capital punishment and where it lies within the brackets of morality but lets be honest, apart from it being moral or immoral, is the death penalty even a practical solution to crime? Morals can be judged however practicality is not up for question seeing as though no one wants to wast time and money doing something that has no real benefit and is highly ineffective towards the it main goal. Does killing someone who may have killed someone else actually benefit the victims, their families, or our society? How much money is being wasted on capital punishment verses rehabilitation? What happens when our justice system as made a mistake (which is not uncommon)? Will people continue to die because they have no money to prove their innocence while other individuals who are imprisoned had only to prove they are not guilty?

                       Inmates who receive the death penalty do so for the following crimes in the U.S.: murder, sabotage, treason, perjury, aircraft hijacking, kidnapping, or even robbery, arson, and resisting arrest in some states (Wyoming). What is the benefit of death in the case of any crime? A family who suffers a major loss by the hands of a felon will not see their precious loved one ever again, neither will it reverse the pain they feel simply because this particular felon has been executed. Feelings of revenge soon die away once their is no other outlets of justification, death being the last attempt at a sort of "reimbursement" for their loss. The pain of the victim's absence remains with the victims family for years to come while execution of the convict provides but a temporary satisfaction or relief that will never heal their hurt. Is it really worth it then? What is common for us as human beings is to think of the present moment as the only relying factors in making decisions. How we feel today or at the moment is often the basis for many actions however this is a shallow and unfulfilled resort to any type of control over a situation and ultimately a reckless one! An eye for an eye leaves both blind. A death for a death leaves two grieving families while the rest of the world moves on with their lives! This is where the question of practicality comes in.What are we really benefiting from? Vengeance? Rage?....or a sick form of justice that holds the stench of human emotion? Practical? I think not.

                     Lets first realize that the death penalty is not like other forms of punishment created by justice system. Financial wise the death penalty is the most expensive form of justice and definitely too expensive to be ineffective in society. The reason costs are so high for this type of sentencing is because the U.S Constitution demands a long and intricate judicial process for capital cases. With the millions spent on the death penalty our communities could open better schools, quality public facilities, safer roads, improve hospital care, and many other interventions to help improve the life of the average citizen instead of killing them when they become victims of the society we live in. How can we kill criminals when we're constantly creating them? A change must be made and killing the criminal won't kill the crime. Why not save money by rehabilitating or creating more education these individuals? Are they not born of our own corrupt society? The cost of the death penalty is significantly higher than the cost of changing our communities and this is another area where the question of practicality comes in. Is it practical to spend time, effort, and extensive funding on the death of a man than spending less money on his rehabilitation? The state of California alone can save 1 billion dollars in over 5 years by replacing the death penalty with life without parole. Incarceration estimates 11.5 million dollars per year whereas the death penalty estimates 137 million per year.

                      It is no question that our justice system in the United States has imprisoned or capitally punished innocent people due to the faulty evidence and loopy accounts of witnesses. One would be surprised to know that most capital sentences are ordered without adequate legal representation due to the fact that almost all defendants in capital case cannot afford their own attorney! This means if you're not wealthy enough you could die an innocent death! Is this the way justice should be served in country that prides itself on having "liberty and justice for all"? Being given a state appointed attorney, these defendants who face capital punishment place their very lives in the hands of overworked, underpaid, and unprepared attorneys. These attorneys are given to them by states who already believe they are guilty judging by the fact that the defendant must prove his innocence, not the fact that he is not guilty.

We should all think that the death penalty keeps capital crimes at a lower rate. It does not! Scientific studies on capital punishment show that each year murder rates increase in states using the death penalty! How is it that such an expensive and irreversible punishment is so ineffective at lowering crime rate. Probably because death is not the answer to death.

You can find more info on the death penalty at:
www.deathpenalty.org
www.deathpenaltyinfo.org