In some of the case studies we've watched, the death penalty has come up, however, we have never paused to consider the implications of this. There are lots of things to consider when talking about the death penalty such as the morality or legality of it or even if it is effective at deterring crime.
First of all, the death penalty costs more money than giving life without parole (LWOP). That money could be used to prevent other crimes and stop violence. California could save 2.34 billion dollars over 20 years by switching to LWOP.
Then, we have to consider which one people would be more afraid of. It seems that people would rather have the death sentence than life without parole. They are considered to be "dead men walking" in maximum security prisons and don't have any of the benefits that other prisoners have since they know they will never get out.
Which is the more cruel and unusual punishment? Many prisoners serving LWOP spends portions of that in solitary confinement. Studies have shown that even short periods of time in solitary lead to psychotic breaks that result in self-mutilation or smearing feces on walls. Overall, a loss of humanity.
With the death penalty, there is no longer a possibility for these murderers to commit crimes again. Whereas serving LWOP they can kill others in jail or if they get out somehow, kill again. However, many become concerned with the possibility of sentencing innocents to death. There is no undo button on the death penalty.
What do you guys think? Which is worse and which one should be used?
I think life without parole is the worst one compared to the death penalty. I think this because the death penalty is basically the easy way out for criminals who commit horrible crimes. If they were to stay in prison for the rest of their life they would suffer more for the crime they committed.
ReplyDeleteI also think life without parole is worst and I think it should be used instead of the death penalty. I think it has also been shown in certain studies that there is about a four percent wrongful execution rate. This is very troubling because while people can get a life with out parole sentence overturned, you can't undo an execution.
ReplyDeleteAs other comments stated above life without parole is definitely the worst situation and should also be an option of death penalty. With this as an option it allows people who commit horrible crimes to have a way out of life, rather than suffering and knowing that they will die in a cell. But this option shouldn't be taken lightly because parole sentence can be over turned yet death cannot so it must be taken into extreme consideration.
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