Niko Depratto

English II
12/11/17

Should the Death Penalty Be Legal?

In a world where crimes rates are increasing by the day, the death penalty is argued to be

a good response to horrendous crimes like murder. Although this is argued against a lot, the

death penalty is a solid retort to major crimes. The main counter against this claim is that the

death penalty doesn't deter people from committing crimes. First of all this is simply not true;

cases that end in capital punishment has shown to result in fewer murders. Second of all, many

people don’t think of the death penalty as a way to prevent crimes, as there are other ways to do

so. Most people think of the death penalty as a way for the families of the victims to receive a

small bit of closure. On top of that, the death penalty is the only counteract to severe crimes.

When someone is killed sometimes the appropriate resolution is to have the killer receive the

same fate. This is only of course if the murder is intentional.

Capital punishment is another meaning for the “death penalty”. An article on usnews.com

explains if capital punishment deters crime or not. The results from their multiple tests and

research conclude that over time, the death penalty is effective. For example, “data from more

than 3,000 counties from 1977 through 1996 found that each execution, on average, resulted in

18 fewer murders per county.” When added up, that is thousands upon thousands of lives saved

because of capital punishment. When conducting another study in 2009, “​researchers found that

adopting state laws allowing defendants in child murder cases to be eligible for the death penalty

was associated with an almost 20 percent reduction in rates of these crimes.” So it is not just

capital punishment itself, it is the mere threat of it that reduces crime by significant amounts.
 Usually after someone is murdered, the victim’s family is devastated. While it can be

heartbreaking when the murderer is never found, it can be just as traumatizing seeing the killer of

a person one cared about. Knowing that they are getting an easier life than they deserve can rub a

lot of people the wrong way. As explained by professor Robert Blecker, “​My thousands of hours

inside maximum-security prisons these past 30 years contradict this(the claim that prison is

worse than death): Inside prison, prisoners and officers alike reject punishment. ‘What a man did

out there is none of my business. I only care how he behaves inside,’ they declare.”​ This further

proves how sometimes prison is not the best option for punishment. The death penalty shouldn’t

be used as a way to afflict vengeance. Instead, it should be a way for families to get closure after

the great amount of sorrow, agony, and distress they have been put through.

When someone commits a crime, they are disciplined accordingly. A misdemeanor can

result in a fine of $1000 or prison for no more than 12 months. The least serious type of felony

can land someone in prison for 3 years at the most. When someone is convicted of 1st degree

murder, the perpetrator is usually given life without parole or the death penalty. A quote from

Kent Scheidegger, who is the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, states

"The death penalty serves three functions. First, for some crimes any lesser punishment is

inadequate as a matter of basic justice”. Many think that life without parole is enough but

considering the extent of a person’s crimes may make some reconsider. For example, in 2012 a

man named James Holmes went to an Aurora movie theater and shot 82 people. 12 people were

killed and 70 were wounded. When in court, the jury decided to give him 12 life sentences. So,

after destroying 12 families and scarring 70 more, the perpetrator gets to sit in a room away from
everyone and think about what he did. This sounds more like a long time out for this mass

murderer.

The death penalty is usually perceived as a drastic and unnecessary. The reason why the

word “unnecessary” comes up is because many people believe that the death penalty does not

deter crimes. A criminologist researches criminal behavior in an attempt to figure out different

causes and different ways to prevent it. According to deathpenaltyinfo.org, a group on

criminologists were surveyed about capital punishment and the survey shows that “ 88% of

criminologists do not believe the death penalty is an effective deterrent”. Considering that is their

field and work and most if not all of them have a degree, criminologists are a very reliable

source. Even with this in mind, facts do not lie. It has been proven time and time again that

capital punishment does in fact deter crime.

Capital punishment is close to being abolished, but this is the wrong move. People should

be for the death penalty because it can prevent future murders, provide victims’ families closure,

and sometimes prison just is not enough. People should let their opinions be heard and hopefully

the death penalty isn’t put to rest because if it is, then innocent lives are put to rest with it.
 Annotated Bibliography

Blecker, Robert. “The New York Times Company.” ​The New York Times​, The New York Times, 6

Apr. 2014,

www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/04/06/what-it-means-if-the-death-penalty-is-dying/the-death-

penalty-needs-to-be-an-option-for-punishment.​ This source is about some states that have banned

capital punishment and why they are wrong in doing so. The article goes on to explain how polls

show that the people living in the previously mentioned states disagree with the actions of their

local government. On top of that, some evidence is shown that prison is not a good enough

punishment. This source relates back to my position because it shows that most people are for

capital punishment and most of the U.S. is defending it. The source also shows how prison is ​not

worse than the death penalty. One quote (or a shortened version of it) that I’m going to use is

this.. “​My thousands of hours inside maximum-security prisons these past 30 years contradict

this: Inside prison, prisoners and officers alike reject punishment. ‘What a man did out there is
none of my business. I only care how he behaves inside,’ they declare.” One reason I am going

to use this quote is because of its reliability. The author is a professor that teaches criminal law.

Radelet, M., and T. Lacock. ​Study: 88% of criminologists do not believe the death

penalty is an effective deterrent | Death Penalty Information Center​, 2009,

deathpenaltyinfo.org/study-88-criminologists-do-not-believe-death-penalty-effective-deterrent​.O

n this website is a graph and a few paragraphs that explain how criminologists believe that the

death penalty is not a deterrent. The graphs shows that 88% of criminologists do not support

capital punishment. I plan to use this source for my counterclaim. The reason why I picked this

source is because criminologists research things like the death penalty for a living and they

would have extensive knowledge on this subject. This is important because when I refute my

counterclaim with facts it will show my reader that even experts on the subject can be wrong in

thinking capital punishment is a bad thing. This in turn will most likely have my reader be

hesitant in the opposing side’s claim because most of the reasons that people are against the

death penalty is based purely on speculation. The quote that I am going to use is the same as

what is in the title of the article. “88% of criminologists do not believe the death penalty is an

effective deterrent”.

Muhlhausen, David B. ​How the Death Penalty Saves Lives​. 29 Sept. 2014,

www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/09/29/the-death-penalty-saves-lives-by-deterring-crime.

This source is used to prove that the death penalty deters crime. It shows statistics and facts that

back up my claim. This is an important point in my essay because it is a response to the main
counterclaim people have against capital punishment. The quote I plan to use is “data from more

than 3,000 counties from 1977 through 1996 found that each execution, on average, resulted in

18 fewer murders per county.” This evidence is one example of how the death penalty deters

crime. I plan to use another quote from this article to defend my refute to the counterclaim. The

author is a researcher for the Center of Data Analysis so these facts should be taken very

seriously and as the truth.

Scheidegger, Kent. “Death Penalty - ProCon.Org.” ​Should the Death Penalty Be

Allowed?​, 8 Aug. 2008, ​deathpenalty.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001324​ This

source is from the pro con website and pro 16 supports one of my reasons. The small paragraph

talks about what the death penalty really does. One of my reasons was that prison is not a good

enough punishment. My source says "The death penalty serves three functions. First, for some

crimes any lesser punishment is inadequate as a matter of basic justice”. This person who said

this is the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation. This person is obviously very

reliable so this helps my reason a lot.