Capital Punishment versus Life Imprisonment

Gandhi once said, “an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind” (Dogra, 2019) and others like Martin Luther King and the Bible have reiterated this, however society today lives without the ladder. Revenge has always been apart of society including in constitutions. Capital punishment also known as the death penalty is an extremely controversial issue reflecting that society may never let go of the revenge mind set. Capital punishment may not be the justice that victims are searching for, life in prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP) is effective of taking away the perpetrator’s life and freedoms. Capital punishment is also an immense financial burden in comparison to LWOP as well as the moral burden of the death penalty. Capital Punishment and a life sentence are both taking away a life, however a life sentence is morally superior and easier to accept in society.

Capital Punishment has been apart of societies since civilization began, “in the American colonies, legal executions took place as early as 1630” (No Author, 2012) they have had it in the country on and off since then, now only including thirty-one states. Back in the older eras the most common type was guillotine “used primarily in the French Revolution 1789-1793” (Sacco, 2021). It was beheading the criminal and was demonstrating a very grisly way of execution. After developing prison systems executions were performed by a firing squad, hanging, an electric chair, gas chambers, and lethal injection. Lethal injections are now the primary type in all the states that have the death penalty, but the other options are still accepted “since 1976, 1,352 executions in the country have been conducted through lethal injection” (No Author, 2021), with Texas leading in the numbers. Capital punishment has always been thought of to be a deterrent for criminals, retribution, and a remedy. It is thought that anti-social killers can not be rehabilitated so death is the only solution. Societal victims seem to approve of the punishment when high-profile killers are in the chair, such as Ted Bundy “They laughed and hooted and, after it was over, they cheered” (Parker, 1989). Yet, there is no proof that families of victim’s encourage the death penalty nor want it for retribution.

There have been numerous of convictions with the death penalty but currently “In the United States, there are only 52 people currently on federal death row. There are more than 2,500 people on (state) death row nationwide.” (Giuliani-Hoffman, 2020). Looking at the math it just never adds up “1,532 men and women have been executed in the United States since the 1970s, although executions have declined significantly over the past two decades.” (No Author, 2021). There are currently more persons on death row currently than have had their sentences carried out for fifty-one years. Also, “even excluding those who remained on death row as of 2013, only about 24 percent of condemned inmates have been executed.” ( Baumgartner and Dietrich, 2015) the percent should be higher if the death penalty is going to continue in the United States law.

Discussion on the cases that have resulted in a death sentence is beneficial to realizing if the law should still include capital punishment or if it should be abolished entirely. Looking at cases that are sentenced to death includes serial killers, terrorism, and rape. Usually, the perpetrator who rapes has also killed making it a death penalty case. Looking at the numbers of carried out executions the majority have been rape and murderers, including various serial killers. Serial killer cases very seldom result in anything but a death sentence, although a select few have ended with a successful insanity plea or a life imprisonment. Serial killer cases bring out an issue with capital punishment, where does on draw the line?

Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are just two of the many serial killers in the USA that were sentenced to death. Ted Bundy “was a 1970s serial murderer, rapist, and necrophiliac. He was executed in Florida’s electric chair in 1989.” (No Author, 2020). He confessed to killing thirty people, but the real number is unknown, he used ruses to kidnap his victims and tortured them. When he was apprehended after escaping his first arrest the case was already a great spectacle in society and the media. Trying to get Bundy off a death sentence would be proving difficult especially when his attorney “Minerva tried to withdraw from the case, but the judge only allowed him to retreat to an advisory role with Bundy serving as the head of his own defence.” (Bruney, 2019). This is what cost him his life. Without the proper defense his sentence could not be possibly commuted to a life imprisonment. Bundy’s crimes were horrific and disturbed, yet all killers’ crimes are. John Wayne Gacy was also a prolific killer in the 1970s, he murdered thirty-three young men and boys with the lure of his Pogo the clown ruse. At first “to many people John Wayne Gacy was a friendly man who loved to entertain people.” (No Author), meaning criminals can blend in and they are deserving of life until their crimes are brought forth. He was also sentence to life “at his trial Gacy’s plea of innocence by reason of insanity was supported by the testimony of several psychologists, who diagnosed him as schizophrenic, but was rejected by the jury, which found him guilty of all thirty-three murders of which he was accused; he was executed by lethal injection in 1994.” (Jenkins, 2006). Bundy and Gacy have committed crimes that led to their deaths at the hand of the government, however, so have other serial killers that have committed just as gruesome crimes.

David Berkowitz and Joseph James DeAngelo are also prolific serial killers, yet they received life sentences and not capital punishment. David Berkowitz “known as Son of Sam, murdered six people in New York City from 1976-1977, claiming he received orders from a demon-possessed dog.” (No Author, 2020). He may have fewer victims than the previously stated, however can society and the law draw the line at how many lives lost to equal to the criminal’s life? He is a schizophrenic who believed his purpose was to kill “in 1978 Berkowitz pled guilty to the six killings, as well as nearly 1,500 fires he had set in and around New York City. He received 25-years-to-live for each murder.” (No Author, 2020), he pled guilty for believing it was not wrong. DeAngelo was also a killer who got life for the crimes he committed. “The Golden State Killer was a serial rapist turned serial killer who terrorized Californians in the 1970s and 80s.” (No Author, 2020) he had murdered thirteen people and raped 50, again what is the line between these murders and the ones of Bundy or Gacy?

Ed Gein and Amy Archer-Gilligan are also serial killers; however, they were committed to mental institutes with the insanity plea. Ed Gein was a serial grave robber and killer. He fashioned skin suits, skin ‘art’ that was hung on his walls and used skin for furniture. Once he was found “Gein admitted to killing the two women- both of who allegedly resembled his mother- but plead not guilty by reason of insanity. In late 1957 he was deemed unfit for trial and was subsequently confined in various psychiatric institutions.” (Jenkins, 2006). After this law enforcement waited until he was fit to stand trial but “he was found guilty of killing Worden- reportedly due to financial reasons, prosecutors only tried one murder- but then was deemed insane at the time of the crime. He returned to a mental hospital, where he remained until his death in 1984.” (Jenkins, 2006) He was traumatized by the relationship with his mother and when she died, he started his fixation on bringing her back with victims skin, and Berkowitz believed a demon- possessed dog gave him orders to kill, both pretty ‘insane’ reasons but only one could hold substance. Amy Archer-Gilligan was a nurse who loved to make food and drinks for her patients “that was until it was discovered that she had added arsenic to her recipe, resulting in the deaths of many of her patients, and 5 husbands all of whom named her in their wills right before their untimely deaths.” (Montaldo, 2019). Amy was an angel of death who to some escaped her justice. She was found guilty and sentenced to death for her crimes but “in 1924 Archer-Gilligan was declared temporary insane and was transferred to Connecticut hospital for the insane in Middletown, where she remained until her death on 23 April 1962.” (No Author), they realized that she may be better off in an institute then facing an execution.

Looking at those cases of just serial killers, one can does not fathom how the law can draw the line at what deems capital punishment, life imprisonment, or a mental health institute. Analyzing the cases, they all seem mentally unwell and all need proper treatment, as well it makes one think why someone who raped fifty and murdered thirteen does not need to give his life for justice but a man who killed thirty does.

Terrorism is also an offence that can carry the death penalty as a punishment. One of the biggest cases in the United States was the case of Timothy McVeigh, “On the morning of April 19, 1995 an ex-army soldier and security guard named Timothy McVeigh parked a rented Ryder truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in downtown Oklahoma City. He was about to commit mass murder.” (FBI). He was standing up to a government he distained and whilst doing this killed 168 people and injuring more. This is one of the worst homegrown acts of terrorism that the USA has seen. Timothy McVeigh’s fate was decided “on Friday, June 13, 1997, the jury’s decision was announced: death.” (Linder, 2006), he paid with his life and that is viewed as justice enough.

Knowing that there are more than 2,500 people on death row it makes one wonder; how many could be innocent? According to studies it occurs more than society may realize, “the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences determined that at least 4% of people on death row were and are likely innocent.” (No Author, 2020). In society today it is easier to use accurate science to determine authenticity of evidence and proper examination, but not 100 percent. In older days it was obviously harder due to fewer founding and inventions in higher science. “The death penalty carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person.” (No Author), if the world abolished capital punishment innocent lives would be saved and prisons over crowding could decline if cases were fully analyzed innocent inmates can be released. Looking at numbers “since 1973, more than 170 people who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated,” (No Autor, 2020) that is an extremely low ratio. As a society no one looks further into the controversial issue one has various opinions on, “it is now broadly accepted that the judicial review provided to death-penalty cases in the U.S. has been inadequate to prevent the execution of at least some prisoners who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death.” (No Author, 2020). If society took a deeper dive into all the issues including the rates of innocent people on death row they would not be so split on if capital punishment should still be carried out in the law.

In general population prisons who include life prisoners there are innocent inmates as well, “the rate of wrongful convictions in the U.S. is estimated to be somewhere between 2% and 10%.” (Grisham, 2018). There are innocent projects that help wrongfully convicted prisoners get out “in 2018, together we’ve exonerated nine innocent people, the most ever in innocence project’s 26-year history and helped pass 17 wrongful conviction reforms in 14 states.” (No Author, 2018), even Kim Kardashian has aided in exonerating innocent inmates.

Another aspect society never looks at is the true cost of capital punishment. In actuality capital punishment cost, more than life imprisonment “each death penalty inmate is approximately $1.12 million (2015 USD) more than a general population.” (McFarland, 2016). Taxpayers are always concerned with how the government is spending their money but never fully investigate fundamental issues that they voice out. Many suggest capital punishment for being cheaper than keeping someone in jail for their life however “death penalty case costs were

counted through to execution (median cost 1.26 million).” (No Author, 2017) compared to “non-death penalty case costs were counted through till the end of incarceration (median cost $74,000). (No Author, 2017). Looking at the facts of these statistics is just another reason society needs to analyze controversial issues before giving their opinions, especially on a law that takes away a human life.

Also, another aspect one needs to look at is the actuality of the living conditions of death row inmates. It is known that American prisons are overcrowded, filthy, and inhumane through all the Netflix docuseries and inmate interviews. On death row they may suffer more than general population “death-sentenced prisoners in the U.S typically spend more than a decade on death row prior to exoneration or execution. Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 years.” (No Author). They are subjected to harsh punishments and inhumane interactions “death-row prisoners are typically in solitary confinement, subject to much more deprivation and harsher conditions then other prisoners.” (No author). Their already subpar mental health continues to decline on death-row then getting the needed help they all require. An inmate gave an interview about his experience on death row, at one point he compared it to slavery in early America he also stated, “what they don’t tell you is that life on death row is a torture all its own.” (Graves, 2018). If society and the law want to murder someone in an inhumane way, they also treat them inhumanely through the entirety of their sentence.

Comparing that to life in prison for any sentence including LWOP is similar but some prisoners can focus on getting out to keep them sane. Prisons are inadequate to human rights in America, “prison is an ugly word, a despicable place, and an inhuman concept.” (Figler, 2020). Some states are worse than others however “two years in the making, the federal investigation of

men’s prisons in Alabama found them plagued with ‘severe, systemic, and exacerbated’ violations of prisoners’ eighth Amendment rights.” (Ford, 2019). Prisoners should be thought as people able to be rehabilitated and should receive therapy and education whilst incarcerated. The only problem is “it’s not just Alabama. Inmates across the country are living-and dying- in horrific conditions.” (Ford, 2019), there needs to be more focus on how to get better life in prisons than just punishing everyone for anything.

Yet another aspect that should be analyzed further is the reality that capital punishment does not deter criminals from committing heinous acts. Society has been made to believe that it does since the beginning of civilization even though “studies show no link between the presence or absence of the death penalty and murder rates.” (No Author). Also, various studies show no evidence that capital punishment is more deterrent than a life sentence and society is going off apparent anecdotal evidence “there is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more efficiently than long terms of imprisonments.” (No Author, 2021). In actuality if one looks at the FBI uniform crime rates from 2018 for every 100,000 persons, it shows that the murder rates in death penalty states are 5.34 and in non- death penalty states the murder rates are 4.1, demonstrating that it does not deter people from committing crimes.

Society thinks that capital punishment is justice playing out, but looking at the definition “justice, in contrast, is designed to offer a resolution far more likely to eventuate in closure- especially in fact, it is just (equitable).” (Seltzer, 2014), the death penalty does not bring closure to anyone involved nor is it just. No one can heal from revenge which is more accurately defining of the death penalty. It is retribution “an eye for an eye! It is payback a societal debt…life for life.” (Sacco, 2021). One can not see that justice and retribution are the same, meaning that capital punishment is just governmental revenge on a criminal who has done heinous crimes.

There are many myths revolving around capital punishment, which some previously mentioned. A myth is that the death penalty keeps society safer, but there is just no statistics to back that up. Also, that because of all forensic evidence, especially DNA no one can be innocent on death row, however “forensic evidence can be contaminated through improper handling, storage, or fabricating or planting fake evidence…”(No Author, 2015). Continuing, people claim that there are humane ways of execution, yet all included pain, and suffering. Lastly, a myth is that people on death row have committed the worst crimes, yet as previously stated equal killers and criminals get a life sentence instead of the death sentence and no one can draw the line with full confidence in the decision.

The biggest part as to why capital punishment still has a place in the states is the society. Although people seem to disagree with the punishment “in 2014, results remained the about the same: LWOP 45% and death penalty 50%.” (No Author), proving that either people say they do not approve and still vote for it or do not fully understand what capital punishment entails and go with their politician’s views. Breaking down subgroups politicians differentiate “about three-quarters of Republicans (77%) currently favor the death penalty, compared with 52% of independents and 35% of Democrats.”(Oliphant, 2018). Gender and race also display different views “in the new survey, about six-in-ten men (61%) say they are in favor of the death penalty and 34% are opposed. Women’s views are more divided: 46% favor the death penalty, while 45% oppose it. A 59% majority of whites favor the death penalty for those convicted of murder, compared with 47% of Hispanics and 36% of blacks.”(Oliphant, 2018). As well as educational backgrounds are divided “Adults who have a postgraduate degree are more likely to oppose the use of the death penalty in cases of murder (56%) than those whose education ended with a college degree (42%) and those who never received a postsecondary degree (36% some college experience; 38% high school degree or less).”(Oliphant, 2018). Religion, age, and where you are raised will also bring a divided view on the death penalty. Society is very divided on whether capital punishment is deserving on its place in law currently. It shows that morals are split which should demonstrate it should not be in law, if morals are split then it is not moral.

Capital Punishment and a life sentence are both taking away a life, however a life sentence is morally superior and easier to accept in society. As a controversial issue capital punishment needs to be analyzed in all categories retaining to the pros and cons and in contrast to a life sentence. While doing this one realizes that it should not be in laws today, it is too morally confusing to be correct. Some may call it vengeance, which is less spiteful and more about restoring justice but a life for a life is not justice that is evening a score. It is also difficult to fully be able to draw a line on what killers deserve to be put to death and which ones are deserving of life without parole. Capital punishment is such a convoluted law that only persons who know the full data, statistics, and morals can only have a say on if should hold substance.

From my personal standpoint I do not see the need or want for capital punishment. As I quoted in the introduction an eye for eye viewpoint is outdated and revenge is never a way out nor would it help mend the pain from the crimes that someone would endure. I never have seen the reasoning in capital punishment since it is merely justifiable murder. As I see it a life sentence is taking a life and freedom away from the perpetrator without permanently taking it away. As I did more research, I further disagree with the need for it, it costs more, and no one fully agrees on if it is morally acceptable meaning it is not. Also, there is a plethora of grey matter on which criminal gets the death penalty, and how to make sure no innocent person is sent to a death they do not deserve. Capital punishment versus life imprisonment is a no brainer, I believe that no one should be put to death, it is inhumane, and I do not see any positives. Society says that victims’ families will heal if their perpetrator is put to death but “science suggests that achieving closure through execution may be a myth and growing number of family members of homicide victims oppose capital punishment or do not want it pursued in the deaths of their loved ones.” (No Author, 2015). All of societies thoughts about capital punishment are mythical and I do not think anyone knows all the truths about the death penalty if they did it would not still be in the united states law nor in any law.

I also believe that all criminals should be rehabilitated or at least tried to be. Therapy should be an essential in prisons especially knowing that most if not all criminals have mental health issues, and they should all have access to a therapist. I also believe that it would be beneficial for inmates to have education while they are serving their sentence. Treating inmates like humans would make the whole world safer and more beneficial.

The treatment of inmates has always been bad but if we were to work on just the smallest way on giving them a better opportunity once they are released, our society would function better as well as being happier and safer. Perceiving them as victims as well may be step one on the list of bettering their treatment and future. I realize that they have done wrong and I am also not saying that all inmates should be released obviously, however I still think they should receive some sort of therapy.

In Canada they fight hard to get a Canadian citizen off death row in the states, because of how morally wrong they view it. “On March 4, 2009, the Federal Court of Canada ruled that the federal government must take all reasonable steps to persuade the Montana government to commute the sentence.” (No Author, 2010). Canada does not have all the rehabilitation steps I would like to see in a prison; however, I believe they get closer by abolishing the death penalty. They hold human life equally and realize it is inhumane to treat any human the way death penalties do.

I believe that people would have an issue with my standpoint because the criminals that have been put to death have committed despicable, and disturbing crimes and I do not disagree with that, but I see it as an ‘easy’ way out. They should stay in prison without their ability to fulfill their only desires and without their freedoms that they fell very entitled to. I also believe people will see it as being soft on criminals, but I see it as having morals and empathy for what led people to do what they have. I also believe that if we had no capital punishment, we could spend time on analyzing the criminals and using it to societies advantage. For example, setting up therapy earlier on with high-risk individuals or setting up more safe houses for children and young adults and stopping the cycle before it goes to far.

To sum it up I believe that the world has no place for capital punishment, nor does it benefit society in any way. Furthermore, I believe that society does not know to the full extent what capital punishment entails, nor does it recognize facts from fiction. I hope that every country can abolish the punishment and introduce rehabilitation facilities like therapy, and education.