The Costs of the Death Penalty in the United States Essay

In 1976, the United States Supreme Court, in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976), Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262 (1976), and Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242 (1976) held that the discretion to impose the death sentence for specific crimes was to be bi-furcated into two separate trials. The first to determine guilt or innocence; the second to determine the aggravating and mitigating factors. The State of Oceana adopted the findings of the U.S. Supreme Court in People v. Wende, 600 P. 2d 1071 (Cal: Supreme Court 1979) In

“…if we look to the States, in more than 60% there is effectively no death penalty, in an additional 18% an execution is rare and unusual, and 6% (Texas, Missouri, and Florida) account for all executions” (Justice Breyer, p.86). It is quite curious that, even with the option, few states implement capital punishment. “For the reasons I have set forth in this opinion, I believe it highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment. At the very least, the Court should call for full briefing on the basic question” (Justice Breyer, p.91).

According to Sarah Mourer, the author of the article “Forgetting Furman: Arbitrary Death Penalty Sentencing Schemes Across The Nation,” Since 1976 The U.S. Supreme Court has read the Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as demanding that arbitrariness be minimized when the state seeks to impose the penalty of death. But unfortunately arbitrariness has been part of the death penalty decision-making. The main problem is the information overload, because capital jury has to process an unlimited amount of evidence relating to aggravating and mitigating the current death penalty jurisprudence tends to enhance and embrace arbitrariness instead of minimize it. (Mourer, N.P.).

The death penalty continues to a topic that is largely debated in the United States, but it was never more unpopular than in the 1970s when it actually came to a halt. A moratorium is a temporary prohibition brought about when “the Supreme Court issued its opinion on Furman v. Georgia which struck down the death penalty nationally.” The moratorium lasted from 1972-1976 and was brought back during the time when Richard Nixon initiated the war on crime and condemned the decision on the Furman, “These efforts to reinstate the death penalty succeeded when, only four years after Furman, opened the door again on executions in the U.S. with its ruling on Gregg v. Georgia.” After the Gregg decision, the Supreme Court gave each state the choice to implement

Three juries had convicted and imposed the death penalty on their accused without any guidelines to go by in their decision. This case (Furman vs. Georgia) represents the first time the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty. The dissenting Justices argued that the courts had no right to challenge legislative judgment on the effectiveness and justice of punishments. The majority however held that the death penalty was cruel and unusual

Following the decline in the support of the death penalty, a moratorium on executions began in 1972 during the case Furman v. Georgia. Furman argued that the death penalty was arbitrary and violated the constitution (Mallicoat and Brown 255-280). In a five to four vote, the Supreme Court

The second major decision from the Supreme Court was in the Gregg v. Georgia case. Here the court approved a series of reforms intended to eliminate arbitrary and discriminatory death sentences and established the two-phase system for the death penalty. The first phase is the "guilt phase" which is conducted on its own to find guilt or acquittal, without the job of issuing punishment. The second phase is the "penalty phase". Here the same jury decides if the defendant is to live or be given the death sentence. Each phase allows the jury to focus on one task, instead of letting death sway their decision on guilt. This bifurcated jury system is in place today.

A question that has been asked since the foundation of our country was made is, “Can the death penalty be considered Constitutional?” Thomas Jefferson was known to have written letters with the same topic. Now only thirty-one states, along with the federal government, still believe that the death penalty is within the boundaries of the Constitution. Twenty executions of the death penalty occurred last year, 2016, and approximately 1500 have since the 1970s (Pennekamp).

For instance, the cost to execute someone is 5x times more than keeping them in jail. Cases without the death penalty cost roughly about $740,000 depending on the situation, while cases with the death penalty cost roughly $1.26 million, and maintaining each death row prisoners cost taxpayers $90,000 more per year than a prisoner in general population. Additionally, Texas has made 474 executions since 1976, and the next closest state to that number is Virginia with 109 executions. There are still several states that have made 0 executions or very little compared to Texas. Moreover, some argue against the death penalty because of wrongful convictions and innocent killings. In the Larry Griffin case, an investigation by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund has uncovered evidence that Griffin may have been innocent of his crime. Investigators say his case is the strongest demonstration yet on executing an innocent man, due to the fact it violates the Eighth Amendment. There’s also principles at conflict, like popular sovereignty and federalism because opposition to the death penalty has increased dramatically since the 1900s. There are 31 states with the death penalty legalized and 19 that have abolished it; however, there’s 5 states that have a moratorium on executions. To conclude, the states depict if the death penalty is legal or not based on the people’s votes, and the states having the power to vote represents

   The law of God is, "Thou Shalt Not Kill" (Bible 79 ), and every system of ethics and rules of our society echoes that law. For decades, state and federal leaders have struggled with opposing views of the death penalty. Many minds have endured this difficult question-Who says it is right to take another human's life because of an act that he/she committed?

In the United States, 36 states participate in capital punishment in one or more of the five different forms, including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chambers, firing squad, and hanging (“Description of Execution”). After being banned in 1972, several states sought to bring back capital punishment by providing sentence guidelines for both jury and judges when deciding the fit case in which to impose death (“Introduction to the Death Penalty”). These guidelines proved the punishment was constitutional under the Eight Amendment, proving it wasn’t “cruel and unusual” punishment under the correct circumstances. Three procedural reforms were approved by the case Gregg vs. Georgia, including bifurcated trials (separating guilt and penalty phases of trial), automatic appellate reviews of court decisions, and proportionality review to help eliminate sentencing disparities (“Introduction to the Death Penalty”). Ever since these changes in 1976, the death penalty

Crime in America is something that has been around for many decades. While a large number of crimes are considered minor, many more result in the serious injury or death of another human being. “When we think about crimes, we … normally focus on inherently wrongful acts that harm or threaten to harm persons or property” (Bibas 22). The death penalty, also called capital punishment, has been used as a means of punishing the most violent of criminals in an attempt to prevent others from committing similar crimes. Over the centuries, the methods used to conduct these executions have evolved and changed due to effectiveness and public opinion.

For years, politicians have been passionately debating the subject of the capital punishment, which has only served to create more divisions within our society. It is an extremely sensitive subject, and one that inspires strong emotions in both directions. Like abortion, gun laws, and the war on terrorism, capital punishment is an issue on which everyone is never likely to agree.

“In a monumental 1972 decision by the US Supreme Court, all but a few death penalty statutes in the United States were declared unconstitutional” (Radelet & Borg, 2000,

The issue of the death penalty has been of great concern and debate for a number of years now. Prior to 1976, the death penalty was banned in the United States. In 1976, though, the ban was lifted, and many states adopted the death penalty in their constitutions. Currently, there are 38 states that use the death penalty, and only 12 states that do not. The states that have the death penalty use a number of ways to go about executing the defendant. Thirty-two states use lethal injection, 10 use electrocution, 6 use the gas chamber, 2 use hanging, and 2 states use a firing squad (Death Penalty Information Center, 1997). The 12 states that do not have the death penalty are Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,