The Impact of the Death Penalty
Outline
How Supreme Court decisions influenced the evolution of the death penalty
The financial impact of the death penalty on society
The social impact of the death penalty on society
How Supreme Court Decisions Influenced the Evolution of the Death Penalty
There is a bigger recognition of the requirement for respect of democracies’ laws and international cooperation. It is worth noting that this recognition arises from the decisions done by means of the highest courts in the U.S. Allen, Mabry and McKelton (1998) assert that there is a greater intersection between the concerns of other countries and U.S. capital punishment law. Furthermore, issues of the execution of foreign natives, banishment, and the expectations of military tribunals to handle suspected alien terrorists often put capital punishment and international human rights concerns in direct conflict. The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia in 1972 was that capital punishment was not constitutional as it was utilized in the whole of U.S.
The Supreme Court of the United States generally issues its resolutions with an opinion majority written and endorsed by one of the justices. Rarely will the court announce a per curiam decision, which is formed as short and unsigned opinion.
The Financial Impact of the Death Penalty on Society
Death penalty is extremely expensive and is not required. Furthermore, when a death penalty is filed, the money and the clock starts moving, and tax payers pay for the trial. Life without parole has led to capital punishment redundant and waste on the amount spent on it. The greatest costs related to the death penalty occur before and during trial, not before conviction proceedings.
Utilizing money on the death penalty system means resources reduction on mental health treatment, crime prevention, education and rehabilitation, drug treatment programs and meaningful victims’ services (Allen, Mabry & McKelton, 1998).
The astronomical prices are costs related to putting a person on death row, which involves lengthy trials, appeals, and criminal investigations. There are impacts of many states reconsidering and re-evaluating having this unjust and flawed system on the books. These funds utilized in death penalties would have a more significant impact on the murder rate if they were put towards increasing the probability of apprehension and policing, rather than the application of the capital punishment afterwards.
The Social Impact of the Death Penalty on Society
Death penalty discourages crime, but in many cases it fails to establish whether a crime was committed. Capital punishment system is far less satisfactory and totally defective to the society. The death penalty, around the world and in U.S. is misappropriated and used in a discriminatory manner against the minorities, poor, members of religious, racial and ethnic communities (Goldberg & Dershowitz, 1970). The risk of executing innocent people has not been eliminated since humans are fallible. Death penalty has caused discrimination and non- whites feel they are discriminated against capital cases. Capital punishment has been used as a tool of racism on the black population being put on death row.
The effects of the death penalty may also include emotional effects on executioners, prison population impact when executions occur, and different falling out on families when criminals who belong to those families are executed. Because of imposition of the death penalty by states, there are the highest murder rates in the country. The opportunity of a rehabilitant or a productive member of the society is denied by the death penalty. Error can be committed by killing the wrong person and by the time one realizes it is too late, and the offended families will not receive justice (Goldberg & Dershowitz, 1970). There is traumatic and unexpected loss, which has severe consequences on families, thereby changing the ability to put up with grief.
