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Alejandra Torres

Ms. Gardner

Hon English 10/4th Period

9 May 2017

Capital Punishment: The Deadly Truth

When you think of a criminal, what crimes do you think he/she has committed?

Robbery, assault, vandalism, harassment, or even murder perhaps? Out of the estimated 2.3

million prisoners in the united states, around 43% of them are placed on death penalty due to

capital punishment laws (deathpenaltyinfo). Although people may argue that these felons who

are getting executed arent doing any good in changing the way criminals act and still continue to

commit heinous crimes. Not only that, but there are risks in killing an innocent man or woman as

the justice system isnt always correct or uncorrupt. However, the death penalty should be

applied to those who have committed crimes far worse than that of a simple vandalism or petty

theft; crimes including treason, terrorism, espionage, drug trafficking and federal manslaughter.

The laws should be enforced as they not only bring closure to victims families but it helps to

keep crime levels down as criminals will think twice before committing such a heinous crime.

Crime will sadly always be a norm for not only this country but the entire world; yet, it can still

be managed with the enforcement of the death penalty on insidious criminals.

The horrors of a prison usually remain locked away and hidden to regular civilians, most

of us are unaware of the harsh nature some prisons may be treating their prisoners. Imagine

being trapped inside a seven foot by nine foot concrete cell with no windows, no air conditioning
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and only two showers per week. Having to soak the sheets in one's own urine just to cool down

for just even a second (Marshall). The inhumanitarian ways that inmates on death row are

receiving is a violation of our eighth amendment and a violation to our proprietary morals and

beliefs as well. Not only that but capital punishment is even more costly rather than maintaining

normal inmates (Marshall). Shockingly, most have heard of the stories of those convicts whove

been wrongly accused and have served numerous amounts of jail time for a crime they never

committed. This happened to Ray Krone, a man wrongly convicted of murder and not only once

but twice, whom spent ten years in solitary confinement and three on death row. He was

convicted for the murder of 36 year old Kim Ancona and then just seven months after his

sentencing, he was sent to death row (McKellar). Wrongfully convicted prisoners such as Krone

are scarred as they must live in constant fear that they are going to die any second. Living in

constant fear, but also living in constant disbelief as one starts to go crazy inside the the

claustrophobic cell, thinking that youve actually committed the crimes youve been charged

accountable with. The wait inside a lonely and deprived concrete room is punishment enough as

for extensive periods of time, one starts to go crazy with guilt or with doubt. Either way, the

death penalty causes many inmates to suffer psychological scarring if they are ultimately

released and by itself is a sufficient punishment.

The psychological damage of the wrongfully convicted inmates is harsh by itself, theres

no denying it. Though only 4% of them are found innocent of the crimes they were charged with.

The remaining 96% of criminals behind death row bars have committed horrible crimes, far too

worse for the imagination to even think about (McLaughlin). What about the psychological

damage that the victims family members are going through? After an inmate has been executed,
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43.2% of victims find closure afterwards while the rest are still trying to grieve through the

process of losing a loved one (Muler). There is greater damage being done to the families of

those of whom have lost something, rather than the inmates who have committed the crime in an

act of rage and destruction. Not only does the capital punishment bring some closure to the

grieving families, but it lowers crime rates throughout the region. Various criminals were

interviewed after theyve been sentenced in a variety of states, most of which do have the death

penalty. Almost all the interviewed inmates stated that they wouldve committed worse crimes

such as murder if it werent for the capital punishment in order (Jacoby). Crime rates have

deteriorated since the death penalty was placed, dropping from an average of 95% crime rates

since 2000 to a staggering 34% in the last decade alone (Executions). So many criminals are

fearing that their lives will be endangered that they rethink their actions before they commit

them. The death penalty should be applied to not only bring forth closure for the grieving victims

families but it should be enforced so that crimes continue to drop as it has been for the past

couple of years.

Though many people would argue that the death penalty is harsh and inhumane, one must

think truly on the actions they committed and whether or not they deserve life or death.Our life

cycle isnt complete until we, sadly but truthfully, parish until who knows where. Should it be

fair of us to dondem people early on in their life to death? Do we have the proper morals and

sufficient knowledge to just cast away a human off the face of the earth? It may seem like we

shouldnt execute people because its immoral and incorrect, because the treatment of inmates by

itself is punishment enough, because the psychological damage done to innocent prisoners may

seem like to much for anyone to handle. A word to the wise, these prisoners are being placed on
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death row, not because they stole a candy bar from a liquor store or got caught trespassing on

private property. No, these people have been placed in jail because they have slaughtered,

dissected, corrupted and terrorised our communities and our nation as a whole. To enforce the

death penalty, we enforce a crimeless future for our children, a way of bring closure for the

grieving and to better help the economy as wed stop paying so many taxes. Death is a serious

matter; nevertheless, our capital punishment laws are placed in order to maintain order and

justice to our corrupt and destructive world.

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Works Cited

Executions by Year. Executions by Year | Death Penalty Information Center,

deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-year. Accessed 5 May 2017.

Frank, Marshall. "Ending Death Penalty is Right in Every Possible Way." Florida Today, 16

Jan, 2017, pp. A.6, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Jacoby, Jeff. "When Murder is Punished with Death, Fewer Criminals Will Murder." Boston

Globe, 26 Aug, 2016, pp. K.5, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

McLaughlin, Michael. Shocking Number Of Innocent People Sentenced To Death, Study

Finds. The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Apr. 2014,

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/28/innocent-death-penalty-study_n_5228854.html. .

McKellar, Katie. "Ex-Death Row Inmate Urges Repeal of Death Penalty." Deseret News, 18

Nov, 2016, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

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Muler, R. STUDIES: Death Penalty Adversely Affects Families of Victims and Defendants.

STUDIES: Death Penalty Adversely Affects Families of Victims and Defendants | Death Penalty

Information Center, deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/6539. Accessed 5 May 2017.