The Death penalty versus Life Without Parole - Research Proposal Example

The Death penalty versus life without parole Sharp (1997) mentioned that “approximately 5900 persons have been sentenced to death and 358 executed (from 1973-96) in Untied States” (Sharp). Death penalty is one of the controversial subjects not only in America, but also all over the world. Majority of the Americans support death penalty since they believe that death penalty is the only suitable punishment which may prevent people from engage in serious crimes. On the other hand many others believe that taking the life of another person under any circumstances is unethical and unsuited for a civilized society.

Such people argue that life sentence without parole is far better than death penalty since death penalty is immoral and highly expensive compared to other means of punishment. In my opinion, capital punishment is not suitable for a civilized society like America and I would like to research this topic further in order to help my readers to better understand why life sentencing without parole is better than capital punishment. “If we execute a person, what is the difference between us and the criminal who has committed the horrifying crime of killing another individual?

”(10 Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment). The criminal justice system normally give capital punishment to the criminals for taking the life of innocent people, citing the reasons that nobody has the right to take the life of others. However, by giving capital punishment, the criminal justice system is also repeating the same mistake done by the criminal. “According to a study by the Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission released in 2002, executions cost the state 38 percent more than the costs of keeping an inmate incarcerated for life” (Capital Punishment - The Costs of Capital Punishment).

Capital punishment is highly expensive because of the complexities in the trial procedures in such cases. The court wanted to double confirm that the criminal deserves the capital punishment. For that purpose, a series of expensive trials are required with the help of advocates, investigating officers, forensic experts etc. All these procedures are highly expensive and the money for such expenses often taken from the pocket of the taxpayers. The essence of American criminal justice system is that “partisan advocacy of both sides on a case will promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free” (Ferdic et al, p.37). Even after numerous trials, it is quite possible that an innocent may force to accept capital punishment only because of the evidences against him.

Court normally declares the judgments based on the evidences. In some cases, it is possible that the evidences go against an innocent person. In such cases, the ultimate objective of the criminal justice system may not achievable, if we give capital punishment to the suspected criminal. It is possible that, after few years time; the court may get fresh evidences to prove the innocence of the culprit they executed. In such cases, the court cannot revert its decisions. This research is intended to complete within a month.

I would like to use both primary and secondary data for this research. I have planned to collect the primary data from some of the criminals who is waiting for the capital punishment and also from some of the officials from judiciary. Secondary data will be collected from internet and published sources. The first two weeks will be used to collect the primary data through the semi structured interviews and the next one week will be used to collect the secondary data. The last week will be used for writing the paper.

The tentative conclusion is that capital punishment is unethical and more expensive than any other means of punishment and it should be prohibited. Works Cited 1. “Capital Punishment - The Costs Of Capital Punishment”. Web. 26 February 2011. 2. Ferdico, John N, Fradella Henry F & Totten, Christofer D. 2008. “Criminal Procedure for the Criminal Justice Professional”. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Tenth Edition 3. Sharp D.1997. DEATH PENALTY AND SENTENCING INFORMATION. Web. 26 February 2011. 4. 10 Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment”.2010. Web.

26 February 2011.