Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?

The concept of capital punishment, or the death sentence, is nowhere near a new one. For centuries, death has been a widely accepted method of punishing criminal activity. In the distant past, when prisons were smaller in size and number and the criminal justice system's reach was more limited, this practice could be seen as far more practical. In the present day, however, the idea of punishing any type of crime by putting an individual to death seems entirely unnecessary.

An important question to ask when considering this issue is simply, "what does the death penalty accomplish?" The United States has a well-organized and established prison system-a life sentence conceivably protects the public from a criminal just as well as simply killing the individual.

There seems to be little argument in favor of capital punishment from a monetary standpoint, either. Given current regulations pertaining to 'humane' methods of execution, most states now concede that it in fact costs more money to execute the average prisoner than to imprison the convict for the rest of his or her natural life. According to former California judge Donald Mccartin, who achieved notoriety for sending nine men to death row during his time in the legal system, it costs the state at least ten times as much to execute a person than to imprison him for life.

Another lens through which to view the capital punishment debate is the intent of the criminal justice system. First and foremost, the system must exist to protect the general public from those who attempt to harm or otherwise take advantage of law-abiding citizens. Another important purpose, however, is to attempt to rehabilitate criminals and transform them to upstanding members of society upon their release. The capital punishment invariably eliminates this opportunity. Unlike the verdicts sometimes based upon circumstantial evidence which saddle men and women with it, death is entirely irreversible.

In a modern and generally reasonable society, it seems that the death penalty remains as an outdated method of punishment driven not by practicality, but by a desire for vengeance or proportional atonement. The problem, however, is that even an exceptional justice system will not return an accurate verdict on every single occasion-where there is capital punishment, there will always be innocent lives lost as collateral damage of the eye-for-an-eye conception of law.