Death to Capital Punishment | Teen Ink

Death to Capital Punishment

May 16, 2010
By chloebelle BRONZE, Winston Salem, North Carolina
chloebelle BRONZE, Winston Salem, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
" i got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. i mean, i love waking up in the morning not knowing whats gonna happen, or who i'm gonna meet, where i'm gonna wind up. just the other night i was sleepin under a bridge and here i am tonight on the grandest ship in the world drinkin champagne with you fine people. i figure life is a gift and i dont intend on wasting it. you don't know what hand your gonna get dealt next, you learn to take each day as it comes to you, to make each day count."


The United States is one of the remaining nations in the world that still has the "i for an i" mentality when it comes to punishment. One of the many controversial topics relating to this mentality is the argument of capital punishment. Although many people see it as a "necessary evil," you might want to wake up and see capital punishment for what it is, barbaric and inhumane.

Many people tend to argue based on their personal emotions and moral beliefs when it comes to a topic as passion evoking as capital punishment, but i'll stick to the facts. Capital punishment is said to deter crime. It's not truw. Sorry to all of you clinging to the belief that killing people for killing reduces...killing, there isn't any actual proof backing up your claims. And yes, the whimsical theory of capital punishment deterring crime is logical, and there have been tests by power hungry politicians trying to justify it's use, but none of them have shown any real evidence. In fact there are many cases proving that it might have the opposite effect.

Another common claim to capital punishment advocates is that it’s “cheaper.” In California the estimated amount used for capital punishment per year is $137 million dollars, and for life imprisonment? 11.5 million. In New Jersey they had to lay off 500 officers due to a lack of funding. They also spend $16 million dollars a year on the death penalty. Without the death penalty the state could have hired every officer back with a salary of $30,000. When a form of punishment takes away money going towards the people who would be fighting the crimes…it’s hard to say there is any possible way its actually having a positive effect on the crime rates.

Sure we’re America. We’re supposed to be big, bad, and intimidating, but maybe we should use a little more logic instead of passion in choosing which ways we decide to punish our citizens. With an economy that isn’t exactly doing so hot, maybe the government should decide to wise up and execute this form of punishment.



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