Capital Punishment and the US - Essay Example

Capital Punishment should be discontinued in the US.

The death penalty is barbaric. There are still a few countries, like the US that prescribe capital punishment. In addition, the US is seemingly unconcerned with the fact that such punishment is barbaric and violative of moral values (Hinton, 2009).

Discussion

Capital punishment is inhumane and entails physical torture. Capital punishment leaves much to be desired in the US. It is the avowed objective of the states that permit this barbarous act to reduce the pain of the condemned prisoner to the maximum extent possible. Unfortunately, this does not transpire in reality (Execution Rules Still Inhumane, 2007). For instance, during the execution of Angel Diaz, via lethal injections, the time taken for him to die, proved to be twice the time that such death was expected to take.

Furthermore, some of the witnesses present at the execution were of the opinion that Diaz underwent a significant amount of suffering during the process. Another disquieting feature of this execution was that the medical examiner categorically stated that the lethal injections had not been administered properly (Execution Rules Still Inhumane, 2007). Subsequently, it came to light that these injections had not been administered by a medically trained professional.

This execution, which took place in Florida, was effected by injecting a mixture of 3 chemicals. This combination produces extreme pain, which the hapless condemned prisoner cannot express, due to the diabolical inclusion of a paralyzing agent, which constitutes one of these chemicals (Word, 2006).

The Floridian authorities have exhibited a total disregard for rendering executions humane. This was tellingly brought home, by the fact that these authorities ignored the recommendations of a commission appointed by the governor of Florida, which called for the appointment of adequately qualified personnel to carry out the executions, via lethal injections (Execution Rules Still Inhumane, 2007).

The Floridian state legislature showed a belated and half–hearted response to the fiasco that was the Diaz execution, by declaring a moratorium on executions. Thereafter, a hearing was conducted into the manner, in which lethal injections were administered to the condemned (Florida Mulls Lethal-Injection Problems, 2007).

Capital punishment involves high expenditure.  In the US, 36 of the 50 states employ the death penalty against some of their criminals. There is much that is distressing and paradoxical with the US in this regard. It had recently come to light that putting a person to death, in the US, was far more expensive than incarcerating that person. It was disclosed in one study by the Urban Institute that Maryland had incurred an expenditure of $186 million, in the 20-year period commencing from the year 1978. In fact, it has been estimated that putting a person to death is costlier by $2 million, in comparison to imprisoning that person for life (Saving Lives and Money, 2009).

Death Penalty may punish the innocent. There is little evidence to indicate that the death penalty has the necessary deterrent effect on crime. In fact, there is incontrovertible evidence that the states that regularly execute their criminals depict a much greater crime rate. For instance, the crime rate in Texas and Oklahoma, which avidly practice the death penalty, is far greater than in the states where criminals are not executed. Another disturbing feature of the death penalty is that on many occasions, the innocent have been deprived of their life. Thus, some 130 individuals, who had been executed, were subsequently seen to be innocent (Saving Lives and Money, 2009). This is a grave travesty of justice and better sense should have prevailed. 

Conclusion

In accordance with the above discussion, it can be surmised that the death penalty in the US should be discontinued for the following reasons; the death penalty does not deter crime, since it was observed that the crime rate in the states where the death penalty was in vogue was higher than in the states where it was absent. Moreover, the cost of implementing the death penalty is alarmingly high. Most importantly, there is every possibility that the innocent will be executed.