I've gone back and forth on this most of my life, and finally looked at the death penalty system in action. A lot of what I found surprised and disturbed me. Sources below.
Most disturbing is that innocent people have been sentenced to death. Lots of them. 130 people wrongfully convicted people were sentenced to death and were lucky to be exonerated and released, eventually. DNA, available in less than 10% of all homicides, can’t guarantee we won’t execute innocent people. Obviously, if someone is convicted and later found innocent you can release him from prison, but not from the grave.
A big surprise: The death penalty is much more expensive than life in prison, and it is well documented. The high costs of the death penalty are for the complicated legal process, and the largest costs come at the beginning, for the pre trial process and for the trial itself. The point is to avoid executing innocent people.
Families of murder victims are far from unanimous about the death penalty. However, even families who have supported the death penalty in principal have testified that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative.
Life without parole, on the books in 48 states, also prevents reoffending. It means what it says, and spending 23 of 24 hours a day locked in a tiny cell is not a picnic. It costs less than the death penalty.
The death penalty doesn't prevent others from committing murder. Homicide rates are actually higher in states and regions that have it than in those that don’t.
There are serious risks with speeding up the process. Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. Speed up the process and we will execute innocent people.
The death penalty isn't reserved for the worst crimes, but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. When is the last time a wealthy person was on death row, let alone executed?
Unless you ignore all these things, it is hard to support the death penalty.
Sources:
Death Penalty Information Center, www.deathpenaltyinfo.org, for stats on executions, reports on costs, deterrence studies, links to FBI crime stats and links to testimony (at state legislatures) of victims' family members.
FBI
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/tab…
The Innocence Project, www.innocenceproject.org
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/COcostte… page 3 and 4 on why the death penalty is so expensive
And, for statements of victims’ families:
http://www.nyadp.org/main/70308Statement…
www.mvfhr.org and www.mvfr.org
