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Adam Horner
Lisa Rutherford
English 15.1
13 November 2017
Is the Death Penalty Necessary? Do those who murder others deserve the right to live?
Could the death penalty save Americans money? These are all very good questions when
questioning whether the death penalty is really the right thing to do. When it comes down to it,
the death penalty brings justice to the criminals that deserve it. Although there are several
reasons to support the death penalty a few of the major talking points are the deterrence theory,
“an eye for an eye”, saving taxpayers money, and rehabilitating criminals.
The Deterrence Theory is one of the main reasons why people should be in full support of
the death penalty. Deterrence is “the inhibition of criminal behavior by fear especially of
punishment” (Merriam-Webster 1). So the Deterrence Theory states that the more criminals that
are put to death the less criminal activities will take place. It has been proven that people make
decisions based on outcomes. So when someone is executed for a harsh crime, the death penalty
will keep others from doing the same. Mark Berman, a Reporter for the Washington Post, says
“the death penalty is morally justified when someone commits a crime like murder” (2). Panel
studies, which are studies that observe several people over different periods of time, have shown
that when capital punishment is used, there is a decrease in the number of homicides. According
to a panel study by David Muhlhausen, a Senior Policy Analyst in the Center of Data Analysis at
The Heritage Foundation, the results confirmed that 18 fewer murders occurred for every one
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execution made. After examining the outcomes of the panel studies, one can see that the death
The quote “an eye for an eye” is a very serious quote when it comes to the death penalty.
The quote appears in the bible two times, both in which are from the Old Testament. It is first
found in the book of leviticus and it says “and if a man cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he
hath done, so shall it be done to him, breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath
caused a blemish in a man so shall it be done to him again”. This is just one example of its
appearances in the bible another example in the Old Testament found in the book of Exodus
when it says "But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise." (Exodus
21:24). After reviewing these quotes this explains why “an eye for an eye” is believed to be one
of the top reasons to support the death penalty. Art Swift, a Senior Communications Expert, has
proven that “Americans who favor the death penalty most often cite “an eye for an eye” as the
reason they hold their position” (1). If an individual harms some other individual then they
While it is true that currently it is more expensive to put someone to death than it is to
keep them in prison for life, this does not have to be the case. According to Kyle Gibson, “Such
costs can greatly be reduced by simply limiting the appeals process and shortening the duration
of the death penalty” (1). Shortening the appeals process would save taxpayers money. If this
occurred, then taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay for a murderer to get three square meals a day, or
for guards to watch over the prisoners and monitor prisoner areas. Taxpayers wouldn’t have to
pay to build prisons and penitentiaries, or pay for utilities and all of the other expenses needed to
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maintain the facilities. Fixing a flawed system and using capital punishment confidently and
People say that it is best to rehabilitate these murderers and serial killers. How would you
feel if a serial killer that murdered helpless young children and women, was roaming around
your neighborhood? A normal person would say that this is highly unacceptable and they do not
deserve any rights at all. Serial killers are also known as psychopaths. Ross Pomeroy, Chief
Editor of RealClearScience, has recently said “to the best of our knowledge, there is no cure for
psychopathy (1). Since murders and serial killers are indeed considered psychopaths then what
Ross Pomeroy states is true. Something else that was interesting is when Pomeroy says
“psychopaths are six times more likely to commit new crimes following release from prison” (1).
Now some people might say that the death penalty should not exist. There is always the
slight possibility that the murderer is falsely accused. This is a very rare occurrence especially
from all of the scientific development that we have today. There is now all kinds of forensic
analysis to specify that that criminal did indeed commit the crime. If there is any doubt that the
criminal did not commit this crime the act of the death penalty should not take place.
In conclusion, the death penalty deters crime. Criminals who commit heinous crimes
deserve nothing less than capital punishment in return. A capital punishment sentence that is
delivered swiftly and justly would save taxpayers money in the long run. It is not realistic to
think that hardened criminals and psychopaths can be effectively rehabilitated. In addition to all
of this don’t the families of victims deserve closure after all they have been through? I believe
Works Cited
Berman, Mark. “Most Americans support the death penalty. They also agree that an innocent
person might get put to death.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Apr. 2015,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/04/17/most-americans-sup
Ort-the-death-penalty-they-also-agree-that-an-innocent-person-might-get-
ut-to-death/?utm_term=f9feaa17a52c.
Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/.
Fieser, James. “Capital Punishment.” The University of Tennessee at Martin, 1 Sept. 2017,
www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/class/160/7-cap-pun.htm.
Gallup, Inc. “Americans: "Eye for an Eye" Top Reason for Death Penalty.” Gallup.com, 23 Oct.
2014, http://news.gallup.com/poll/178799/americans-eye-eye-top-reason-death-penalty
Aspx.
Gib_son_Kyle. “Death Penalty Repeal: It's Necessary to Use Capital Punishment in a Free
https://mic.com/articles/48937/death-penalty-repeal-it-s-necessary-to-use-capital
MCCASKILL, NOLAN D. “Trump's favorite Bible verse: 'Eye for an eye'.” POLITICO,
www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/trump-
favorite-bible-verse-221954
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Muhlhausen, David. “The Death Penalty Deters Crime and Saves Lives.” The Heritage
Foundation, http://www.heritage.org/testimony/the-death-penalty-deters-crime-and-saves
Lives
Muhlhausen, David B. “How the Death Penalty Saves Lives.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S.
www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/09/29/the-death-penalty-saves-lives-by-
Deterring-crime.
www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/07/can_psychopaths_be_cured.html.
The Holy Bible: containing the Old and New Testaments ; translated out of the original tongues
and with the former translations diligently compared and revised. American Bible
Society, 1986.