Death Penalty in America - Research Paper Example

? Death Penalty in America Death penalty, which is often described as capital punishment, is pronounced on offenders who have committed extremely heinous crimes. It is an ancient practice but in the United States it has faced several controversies in the latter half of the twentieth century (Robertson, 14). Does the death penalty serve any purpose in our current judicial system? Criminal executions were first implemented in our society as a crime deterrent to ensure that the offenders cannot engage in future crimes but time has shown that cost, errors, and effectiveness have led many to believe there are alternatives available. History of Death Penalty Death penalty law was first established way back in eighteenth century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. In Britain, hanging became the most common method of executing death sentence in the tenth century A.D. However, in the following century, William the conqueror banned all method of capital punishment for any crime. Again, in the sixteenth century some 72,000 people were executed for capital offences like conducting wedding with a Jew, not admitting to a crime, and treason. Since death penalty is a severe form of punishment, the juries did not convict many defendants if the offense was not grave and this called for reforms in the death penalty in Britain. America was influenced mostly by Britain in the methods of death penalty. When the Europeans settled in the newly found land of America, they continued with their practice of capital punishment. In America, the first ever execution that took place was of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. His crime was that he was a spy for Spain. All colonies did not have the same laws of death penalty. The first implementation held in Massachusetts Bay Colony was in 1630 although Capital Laws of New England were not established until years later. Duke’s Laws of 1665 were put into effect in the New York colony and under these laws capital crimes included striking one’s parents or atheism. Attempts to reform the death penalty occurred for the first time in America when Thomas Jefferson initiated a bill to review Virginia's death penalty laws. According to this law crimes that were to be punishable by death penalty were murder and treason. This law was defeated by one vote. In the nineteenth century many states of America brought down the incidence of their capital crimes. Many states like Rhode Island and Wisconsin abolished the death penalty, although most states continued with their practice of capital punishment. Some states increased the number of offences to be liable to be punished by death penalty, mainly those committed by the slaves. During the civil war, anti slavery movement began more prominent and as such opposition to the death penalty declined. "Progressive Period" of reform began in the twentieth century in America. During the period 1907-17, death penalty was completely withdrawn in six states. Three states kept treason and first-degree murder of a law enforcement official as the only capital crimes. However, this reform did not last for long due to the chaotic atmosphere in America in the wake of the Russian revolution. In addition to that, America participated in World War I and during this period there were severe class conflicts and the socialists became a threat to capitalism. Due to this reason five of the six states which abolished death penalty again established the law of death penalty. In the 1950s, the number of death penalties made a steep drop as many allied nations either abolished or limited the death penalty. (“History of the Death Penalty”) Cost of Execution From economic standpoint it is debatable whether death penalty is sufficiently effective for prevention of criminal activities. There are methods that have been proved to be effective for prevention of crime, but resources that are used for the implementation of death penalty are not available for establishing those methods. Costs involved in death penalty cases are much higher than criminal cases and also higher than imprisonment for life with no option of parole. It has been seen that in California capital trials are six times costlier than murder trials. This is because the court goes through a long process in the arrangements and course of capital trials due to the fact that the death sentence cannot be altered or reversed. Even after the conviction, there are constitutionally mandated appeals, which lead to costs, involved in prosecution and defense. All capital trials go through this long and expensive process irrespective of the outcome. If the defendant is not given the death sentence, then there is additional cost of life imprisonment. In states where death penalty is practiced, taxpayers have to bear the brunt of it. (Dieter) Execution of Juvenile Offenders There are several justifications for juvenile death penalty. Juvenile crime especially homicide is considered to be worse in America comparison to other countries. Execution of juvenile offenders who were sentenced to death began in the year 1642. Juvenile murderers are considered to be brutal and they do not pay heed to the pleas of the civilised society to stop the killing. There is also much opposition against juvenile death penalty. In most cases teenage offenders have gone through a traumatic childhood and they did not have the opportunity to recover from the effects of their childhood trauma. Medical research has proved that brains do not mature organically till late teens or early twenties and impulse control is the last to fully develop. Teenagers tend to take a glorified view rather than a realistic view of death and as such capital punishment does not discourage them from carrying out heinous crimes. (Streib). In 2005, the US Supreme Court withdrew juvenile death penalty. Those who will commit murder under the age of 18 will not face death trials. This decision of the court not only affected the future offenders but also those who were already facing death rows at that time for offences committed below the age of 18. Juvenile death penalty was practiced in 19 states of America, but the Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy who was in favour of the ban said that even in these states the executions were not always carried out. According to Kennedy instability and emotional imbalance contribute to the criminal tendency among the young people. (“US Court Bans Juvenile Executions”) Errors in the Execution Process Death penalty is a very sensitive subject and there are many arguments against this practice. Decision of death sentence is more often determined by the quality of the defending lawyer than the facts of the crime. Almost all capital offenders are poor when arrested and they are given court appointed lawyers to fight their case and such lawyers are mostly inexperienced and underpaid. Moreover, courts do not authorise sufficient funds to do proper investigation. Wealthy people have sufficient fund to appoint well-established and competent lawyers and are more often spared the death sentence. More often the race of the victim determines the outcome of a death trial. In general murderers of white people face more chance of receiving death sentence that murderers of African Americans. People with mental retardation face a greater chance of getting the death sentence. This happens because such disability leads a person to make false confessions and also people with mental retardation cannot always provide the adequate information to the defending lawyers. There is also the risk of innocent people getting the death sentence even after long process of investigation. (Robertson, 5-8) Pro-death Penalty Views Death penalty has always faced severe criticisms. However, there are also staunch supporters and they hold equally strong views of this practice. There are arguments that capital punishments do not keep people from committing murders. Based on this argument the author has pointed out that prisons should also be eliminated, as they too have no effect in the minds of potential criminals. Critics also claim that states, which have the practice of death penalty, have high crime rates because the fear of capital punishment induces the offenders to murder all the witnesses. The author argues that urban states have higher frequency of crime incidents than rural states. He further claims that states that have adopted capital punishment have done so because of their high crime rates and not the other way around. A study published in 1985 showed that if capital punishment is raised by one percent, then around 105 murders can be prevented. Studies, which say that death penalty has no effect on crime, are based on inconsistent practice of capital punishment. The author emphasises that in order to be effective, capital punishments must be used consistently. (Robertson, 14-18) Alternatives available Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (LWOP) can be considered as the most plausible alternative to death penalty. Jurors sometimes may feel that LWOP is less severe than death penalty or they may not actually believe in the concept of LWOP as they may fear the risk of escape by the offenders and they may sentence the offender to death rather than exposing the society to such danger (Mandery, 403). Community policing is considered as another alternative to death penalty for reducing crime. It is a strategy for ulitising police officers as people who become an integral part of the neighbourhood they serve to solve problems of criminal activities. Community policing can be expensive but can be effective too. Such programs function best when government can add more officers. Taking officers from existing numbers for such programs can hinder other work. (Dieter) Conclusion Legal system regarding capital punishment is so slow and inefficient that criminals can take full advantage of that. Criminals are able to stay steps ahead of the legal system and can take advantage of every loophole (Robertson, 19). Death penalty can have positive effect only if several reforms are made in the justice system. References 1. Robertson, Diane, Tears from Heaven;Voices from Hell, USA: iUniverse, 2002 2. “History of the Death Penalty”, deathpenaltyinfo.org, 21st July, 2011 from: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty#america 3. Dieter, Richard C., “What Politicians don’t say about the High Costs of the Death Penalty”, fnsa.org, 21st July, 2011 from: http://www.fnsa.org/v1n1/dieter1.html 4. Streib, Victor L., “The Juvenile Death Penalty Today:Death Sentences and Executions for Juvenile Crimes, January 1, 1973 – April 30, 2004”, internationaljusticeproject.org, 2004, 21st July, 2011 from: http://www.internationaljusticeproject.org/pdfs/JuvDeathApril2004.pdf 5. “US Court Bans Juvenile Executions”, BBC News, 1st March, 2005, 21st July, 2011 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4308881.stm 6. Mandery, Evan J., Capital Punishment in America:A Balanced Examination, USA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2011 Read More