There are five different forms of execution in the United States: hanging, electrocution, lethal injection, lethal gas, and firing squad. All of these should be illegal. It does not deter crime, it is a crime, and it encourages violence. It is also very expensive. With the United States struggling with the economy, people are now asking, “Is this the way to spend money?” A California state commission reported that its death penalty system costs more than $100 million a year to administer.
First of all, the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. There are still criminals who continue breaking the law. In fact, only twenty percent of United States states show evidence that executions do deter crime. The murder rate in non-death penalty states has actually remained consistently lower than in death penalty states and the gap has grown since 1990. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan says, “It is not denied that many, and probably most capital crimes cannot be deterred by the threat of punishment.” On average, states where capital punishment does seem to deter crime tend to execute many more people than in states where there seems to be no deterrent effect. So, only if a state executes many people does deterrence grow.


Also, the death penalty itself is a crime. The death penalty is murder, and two wrongs don’t make a right. There is no point in murdering people who have committed murder because then no one has been taught a lesson. The U.S. has successfully executed about 700 since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated, and unfortunately, Kansas has been a death penalty state since 1994. There are currently thirty-six states, including Kansas, which allow capital punishment. Others, like Illinois, have slowed or temporarily discontinued the use of capital punishment because of innocent defendants.


Lastly, the death penalty encourages violence. In eighty percent of the United States, murder rates actually increase after executions take place. California has the largest death row in the United States with approximately 650 inmates. Executions lead to a brutalization effect, a climate of violence and killing to avenge grievances. Representative Jack Minor remarks, “The death penalty’s not a deterrent. In fact, the figures would suggest it’s just the opposite.”


At a murder victim’s support group, a large group of approximately 40 people say their names, and the member of their family who was murdered. And last, when they are finished, they announce, “And I oppose the death penalty.” These are the people who have come to realize that by killing a murderer, no lives are being saved, no lives will be returned, and no one is learning a lesson from the execution. It is only revenge, which does no good for anyone. The death penalty is expensive, it is not a deterrent, it is actually a crime because it is murder, and it encourages violence. Therefore, the death penalty should be illegal.