Death Penalty or Life Sentence | Teen Ink

Death Penalty or Life Sentence

January 13, 2011
By missykimmy111 BRONZE, Aurora, Colorado
missykimmy111 BRONZE, Aurora, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

There are many people out there who will disagree with what I’m going to say. However that does not change my views. The death penalty is effective. According to Professor Isaac Ehrlich from the National Bureau of Economic Research, for every execution 7 lives were spared because they were more deterred from committing murder. If that’s not effective, I don’t know what is.

The death penalty is not every one’s worst nightmare and no criminal cares whether he lives or dies. Not true. It’s human nature to want to survive. We can use this fear of dying to our advantage. If more criminals were executed, the crime rate would be drastically lowered.

Did you know that people who get sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole don’t always spend their whole life in prison? Sometimes circumstances allow that they are let out on parole because of “good behavior.” During the time of parole these criminals just go out and do the same thing that got them in prison in the first place. What did we gain by just giving that criminal a life sentence? Nothing.

People who go out and murder other humans don’t get better. They can claim that they’ve changed but most likely they haven’t. What’s the use of having many, many, many mass murderers sitting in prison collecting our tax dollars for three meals a day and all the good things in life? Like T.V., game rooms, libraries, basketball courts, a gym, heating and air conditioning, things that good people have to works their bums off for. The jails and prisons are overcrowded anyway.

Think about Jared Laughner. He went out and killed 6 people and injured many others. He killed a 9 year old girl for Pete’s sake. What are we going to do with him, consecutive life sentences? What will that do? He’ll be the model inmate then claim that he’s changed and of course, he will have found God. Odds are his sentence will be reduced and soon he’ll be roaming the streets on parole.

If more criminals got the death penalty society would be a much safer place. If more criminals got the death penalty maybe, just maybe, some wannabe criminals would change their minds. If more criminals got the death penalty we would not have to work so hard to make sure our taxes cover their easy lives in prison. Those people have contributed nothing to society other than pain and suffering to innocent, decent people. They care about nobody but themselves.

What about the people that criminals have murdered, do they get a second chance? What about the families’ who have lost a loved because of these monsters, do they get a chance to see their loved one again? No. Therefore why should a murderer who takes innocent peoples’ lives get another try?

In 2010, there were a total of 46 executions in the U.S. In my opinion, that number is just a drop in the bucket. No one has the right to kill an innocent human being for any reason. End of argument.


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