Texas Death Penalty Research Paper

Death Penalty in Texas According to Wikipedia, since the death penalty was re-instituted in the United States with the 1976 Gregg v. Georgia decision, Texas has executed more inmates than any other state. Since 1982, 537 people have been executed in Texas. All executions occur at the Huntsville Unit. [1] Death Penalty is when someone is punished for a harsh crime they have committed including murder and rape.

During the historical era in the state of Texas, the use of the death penalty was common and frequent; before 1923 districts carried out executions themselves, in the form of hanging. However in 1923 the state of Texas prepared every execution to be carried out by the state in Huntsville using the electric chair as the method of execution. The state of Texas put to death their first prisoner by electrocution on February 8, 1924 and there were four more executions following the very first one on that date. The inmates that were sentenced to death and the areas that the executions were taken place were located in the Huntsville division from 1928 to 1965, and the last electrocution was carried out on

In many cases the person in question is sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. Do you know how much that costs you? The current annual cost for keeping an inmate in a state prison is $47,102, times the thousands of inmates also in prison for life is roughly around 59million a year. For a person to be put on to death row is around $7.2 million for three years. For a year of life in prison compared to three years of death row is a huge difference. Which means it could cut down the amount

    Each year there are about two hundred and fifty people added to death row, while thirty-five are actually executed. Since capital punishment was resumed in 1976, there have been three hundred and ninety-one executions ("Cruel and Unusual" 27). If the judge recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees, the criminal will face some form of execution. Lethal injection is the most common form. From 1972-1976, capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional (Capital Punishment 2). The Supreme Court's reason for abolishment was the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment. They reversed their decision when new methods of execution were introduced.

Although having the death row may bring the victims closer, The cost of death vs. life in prison is irradical. Prisoners who do not go through the death penalty process only costs $740,000. If the prisoner went through the death penalty process, it would cost more than $1.26 million. If you were too make the process of the death penalty longer, than they would cost more than $90,000 more each year that they are on trial. Since most death procedures now a days are through lethal

Not only does the death penalty not deter crime but it is also very expensive. The death penalty costs so much because of the appeal process. The appeal process is a very long and expensive process that can go on forever and costs the government millions. Many assume that abolishing the death penalty is wrong because it becomes unfair to the taxpayers because they think the cost is less than that of life in prison without parole. However life in prison is less expensive than the death penalty (Bedau). The death penalty is actually three times more than keeping a prisoner in prison for life without parole (Messerli). Death penalty trials are costly as well. “[S]tudies estimate that death penalty trials cost $1

In the present day of America the death penalty has diminished greatly in its use to a point where it is almost never used in most states and most other countries accept a select bunch, have also adhered to this same philosophy. (deathpenaltyinfo.org)

Capital punishment has been used around the world for many thousands of years as a way of enforcing justice when someone has done wrong by what standards that the cultures have. Over the past few centuries capital punishment has started to be questioned by many people in Europe and in the United States. Many people who support the death penalty cite reasons such as deterrence and not wanting to spend money a person who will never be a productive member of society again. Many who are in opposition to the death penalty say that the death penalty is

Albert Einstein, a physicist and philosopher of science, “once said, no problem can be solved with the same level of thinking that created it” (Einstein). The intelligent man expressed his ideas clearly that if a killer kills someone and we also kill the killer then what would be the difference between us and the killer because we both are killers. The Death penalty was influenced by Britain. The practice was brought by European settlers for practice in U.S. The first recorded execution in the new colonies was Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain (“Part I”). According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 31 States in the United States allow the death penalty and 19 states do not allow the death penalty (“Deterrence”). The death penalty should be abolished in our society because it is not an effective crime deterrent, it puts a strain on our economy, it may result in the loss of innocent lives, and it promotes racial discrimination.

Research confirms this is simply not accurate. The death penalty has been proven to be “much more expensive than life without parole because the Constitution requires a long and complex judicial process for capital cases. This process is needed in order to ensure that innocent men and woman are not executed for crimes they did not commit, and yet with these protections the risk of executing an innocent person cannot be completely eliminated” (“The High Cost of the Death Penalty” 1). To sentence a criminal to life without parole would be a lot less costly than imposing the death penalty. The cost for taxpayers ranges from “$2 to $5 million per death sentence for the trials and appeals. Life in prison averages $1 million (40 years at $25,000/year). Louisiana State Attorney General, & former District Attorney, says that he can try a second-degree murder case for $15,000-20,000 instead of $250,000 for a death penalty trial” (“Some Facts about the Death Penalty” 1). The money saved has the opportunity to be used for many other improvements which could better the community. These funds could aid in the prevention of crime as well as to increase the overall crime resolution rate. Both of these options would allow for an increase in the job opportunities available within the

In conclusion Capital punishment is harsh. It is very cruel and it should be abolished. Capital punishment should not be allowed in our country if it is a system that can’t claim anyone guilty. Also it is very expensive and I think that it is harm and

The cost of the death penalty compared to the life sentence is excessive. Sending someone to jail and letting them die of natural causes is way cheaper than executing them. According to the Los Angeles Times (Williams, 2011) the death penalty cost Californians $184 million a year. Over 20 years, the state would save more than $2.34 billion if they actually sentenced everyone on death row to life in prison. It costs 20 times more for an execution than a life-without-parole case with the cost of attorneys being $300,000 more to represent a person on death row than someone with a life sentence charge. Along with jury selection of capital cases being 3-4 weeks longer and costing $200,000 more and with the heightened security at execution adding $100,663 with many other expenses. The least expensive death penalty trial costs $1.1 million more than the most expensive life-without-parole case. Making lifetime imprisonment the more sensible option cost wise.

Some people would disagree, and say it’s cheaper to use the death penalty rather than life in prison. The numbers prove them wrong. The online article “Cost of the Death Penalty” proves, “The death penalty was sought cost $1.03 to $1.3 million, whereas cases without the death penalty cost $775,000.” For example, North Carolina has executed 46 people since 1976 with a cost of $2.16 million for every execution. States are wasting lots of money on trial juries, security, and maintenance cost. The execution itself isn’t the whole problem for the money. The appeal process is what takes up a lot of the money because it’s a very long process and extremely expensive. Many cases have been up to $700,000 dollars per case, however few cases have been up to $1.26 million on average. More lawyers, cases, and time equals out to more

Capital Punishment is a legal punishment where a lot of innocent people have been convicted and executed. It’s a punishment determining who lives and who dies, I believe Capital Punishment should no longer be an option. The death penalty puts innocent lives at risk, there are better alternatives and The Eighth Amendment prohibiting cruel or unusual punishment.

Capital punishment as it is administered in the United States is not an appropriate method of punishment. This is not an appropriate method because it causes more bad consequences than good. The cost of the death penalty far out costs the money needed to keep a person in prison their whole life. This form of punishment is old and barbaric. The death penalty causes corruption through the judiciary system by the jury and lawyers. There is a chance of putting an innocent person to death (Messerli, 2016).