Cost of the Death Penalty Essay - 1190 Words

Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty, written by Mark Costanzo, neatly lists reasons for opposition, and abolishment of, the death penalty. Costanzo provides a review of the history of the death penalty, a review of how the death penalty process is working today, questions on whether or not if the death penalty is inhumane and cheaper than life imprisonment. He also questions if the death penalty is fairly applied and the impact, if any, that it has on deterrence. He closely examines the publics support of the death penalty and questions the morality of the death penalty. Finally, Costanzo provides his own resolution and alternative to the death penalty. Each of these items allows the reader an easy, and once again, neat view†¦show more content†¦With the process at this point, there was no way of knowing why juries were choosing death in one case, yet choosing life in others. Also, blacks were being killed at a much higher rate that any other offender. These two reas ons, long with others, led the high court to claim the death penalty unconstitutional until further revamping, which was soon to come. The second major decision from the Supreme Court was in the Gregg v. Georgia case. Here the court approved a series of reforms intended to eliminate arbitrary and discriminatory death sentences and established the two-phase system for the death penalty. The first phase is the quot;guilt phasequot; which is conducted on its own to find guilt or acquittal, without the job of issuing punishment. The second phase is the quot;penalty phasequot;. Here the same jury decides if the defendant is to live or be given the death sentence. Each phase allows the jury to focus on one task, instead of letting death sway their decision on guilt. This bifurcated jury system is in place today. For those sentenced to death, Costanzo argues that it is inhumane due to the fact that those on death row, going through appeals, sit in basic isolation for years being forced to face the thought of death each and every day and how this constantly occupies the boredom. He also arguesShow MoreRelatedCosts Of The Death Penalty1237 Words   |  5 PagesCosts of the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. This article evaluates studies done in states all over the U.S to show much money is spent on capital punishment. For each state, the author provides a small summary, including statistics, and then provides the link to the original article where the information derived from. Thus, giving this article authority, by citing all sources, and also accuracy because of the studiedRead MoreThe Cost For A Non Death Penalty1432 Words   |  6 Pagessurrounding the death penalty. â€Å"Each execution can cost between $2.5 mil lion and $5 million.† (Fagan 1). Compared to the millions of dollars it takes to execute a single to person to the more affordable cost of housing a prisoner of a range of $20,000-$40,000 a year; we as a society could punish these people for their crimes without killing and for less money.(Hirby 1). The cost for a non-death penalty trial is in the area of $250,000 whereas a trial concerning the death penalty will be in the areaRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Not Cost Efficient2596 Words   |  11 PagesJessica Turman Senior Seminar Spring 2015 Research Paper For this paper, my topic of choice is on the death penalty versus life in prison. My thesis for this paper is that the death penalty is not cost efficient. 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The controversy that the death penalty has caused in the United States is startling withinRead MoreDeath Penalty Essay1155 Words   |  5 PagesDeath Penalty Virtually every major program designed to address the underlying causes of violence and to support the poor, vulnerable, powerless victims of crime is being cut even further to the bone†¦ In this context, the proposition that the death penalty is a needed addition to our arsenal of weapons lacks credibility†¦ Scott Harshbarge, Attorney General of Massachusetts Across the United States, police officers are losing their jobs, prisoners are obtaining parole early, courts areRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is Justified995 Words   |  4 PagesThe Death penalty has been a controversial topic for many years and recently the debate about it has been getting bigger and bigger to where at some point soon a decision will have to be made. Many people will disagree with the death penalty because it goes against their moral beliefs, this is thought process is seen more in the northern states. However, here in the south the death penalty is strongly believed in by most, but who is put to death and why? Did they deserve this sentence or were theyRead MoreDeath Penalty1135 Words   |  5 PagesNovember 2012 The death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1977, and since then murderers and rapist have been executed for the violent and harsh crimes they were found guilty of committing. In the past thirty years over 1,200 prisoners have been put to death for crimes in which they were convicted. The government of each state executes these prisoners by way of the electric chair, gas chamber, and the most common way lethal injection. A survey, from the Death Penalty Information Center