I found a story on My Fox Austin
from Nov 3rd about
protestors marching to abolish the death penalty, which prompted me to do some
research and see the numbers for myself. The Death Penalty
Information Center states
that in the United States since 1976, there have been a total of 1,312
executions and Texas is the leader with 489 executions. Not a big surprise to
me. Texas loves capital punishment. Texas was the first state to use
lethal injection in 1982, but of Texas’s 254 counties, 136 of them have never
sent an inmate to death row (1976-present). A map of death
sentences by county from Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty can be found (there is also a newer map from 2007-2010) which I found
very interesting. It is crazy to see the exact numbers and how it varies in
bigger cities compared to smaller ones. For example Harris County, the Houston
area, has 200+ death sentences, which doesn’t surprise me because they have a
high crime rate compare to smaller cities. Harris County is also the only
county with 200+ death sentences. All of this data lead me to find the costs,
which I have always been curious about and was amazed at the cost of a death
penalty case which averages $2.3 million vs $750,000 for life in
prison. Every Texas resident is contributing to the costs of death penalty
appeals.
I
have never known where I stood on the issue of capital punishment. I could go
back and forth all day. If someone murdered a person I loved deeply, I don’t know
if I would want that person to be put to death and leave this Earth like my
loved one did or if I would want them to be confined everyday with no possible
chance of ever living their life the way they want. Will they really think
about what they did? Will they be remorseful? Will prison change them or not?
What I do know is the death penalty costs a whole lot more than life in prison
and I don’t know that $2.3 million is worth it. I need to do some more research
and hear what other people have to say about the issue. I don’t think I will
ever fully know where I stand until I am put in this situation, but I hope I am
lucky to never be in this type of situation.
The problem with this issue is that there are so many variables, some of which are less tangible than others. First off as Kayla pointed it out it is in fact less expensive to give some life in prison then the legal hassle leading up to the death penalty. However what was not pointed out was a situation in where the executed is exonerated. Once a man is dead there is no way to repay him should it be found that he did not commit the crime for which he was sentenced. There is a famous case of Cameron Todd Willingham who was executed for burning down his house thereby murdering his three children. Willingham was executed in 2004. However new arson investigations techniques all but prove Willingham did not start the fire that killed his children. This evidence could have acquitted Willingham, but acquitting him now would not do much to repair the damage done. Also one if not the most intangible item is that by executing the convicting limits the possibility for forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteHowever there are reasons for having capital punishment in place. First off the crimes for which people in this state are executed for, execution is the only suitable punishment. Also a more logical reason for having the death penalty in place is that sometimes life in prison does not always work. There is a famous incident where Kenneth Allen McDuff had been convicted of murder (he had committed other murders for which he was not convicted) and was given the death penalty. Before he was executed though the death penalty was repealed in Texas and McDuff was given life without parole. Even with this he was eventually paroled at which point he went out any murdered several more people. After being caught he was finally executed with a body count of fourteen. By giving people life in prison, even without parole there is still the chance they could be free. In the end however just like my colleague I am undecided whether capital punishment is a good idea.
-Robert Feller