The Comprehensive Costs Of Capital Punishment Essay Samples

The capital sentence is one of the most debated issues, and once the sentence has been administered, there is no opportunity to reconsider. Many people oppose a death penalty based on their religious beliefs. There are so many aspects that go behind deciding the kind of punishment, especially for those offenders who have perpetrated the ultimate crime against society. The course of the death penalty may involve the individual status of offenders, delay, issues during the process and the costs (Hance et al., 2013).
A recent survey done to gauge views of people on the death penalty or capital punishment revealed that the majority still supported capital punishment. Mandatory penalties were agreed upon for the most serious crimes, ignoring the questions of objectivity and fairness. The general public is still not much aware of the factual issues related to the death penalty (Ellsworth & Ross, 1983).
When cost figures were compared with different various states and studies, it was found that the costs related to the death penalty are higher as compared to life imprisonment. Still more research needs to be done to get a clearer picture. It is certainly not more economical to execute a criminal as compared to keeping him confined to life because of the subsequent appeals in case of a death penalty. The mere economics too is another tangent to the traditional societal-cost arguments. The costs of capital punishment are a rising concern in a number of states (Spangenberg & Walsh, 1989).
Opponents of the death penalty state various arguments against its imposition, and it is the mounting costs, delays, backlog of cases as well as the shortage of death-row attorneys. There could be serious mistakes made during the process, tampering of evidence that can lead to wrongful convictions (Hance et al., 2013).
The capital as well as non-capital cases comprise of pretrial, trial and post-trial levels. However, as the death penalty is different, the steps within each level differ and are more time-consuming, and thus raise the expense.

References

Hance, B. S., Kay, K. D., Larson, J., & Lewis, V. (2013). Death of the death penalty? an examination of california's capital punishment system. Journal of Legal Issues and Cases in Business, 2, 1.
Ellsworth, P. C., & Ross, L. (1983). Public opinion and capital punishment: A close examination of the views of abolitionists and retentionists. Crime & Delinquency, 29(1), 116-169. doi:10.1177/001112878302900105
Spangenberg, R. L., & Walsh, E. R. (1989). Capital punishment or life imprisonment? some cost considerations. (symposium: The death penalty approaches the 1990s; where are we now?). Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, 23(1), 45.