Death Penalty: Is it Worth It?

Jared Loughner, responsible for the recent shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, may be sentenced to death, but his sentencing may not be unanimously agreed on. What will happen to Loughner? There is no dispute that the dangerous 22-year-old Arizona resident will be punished for the fatal hate crime he committed against innocent victim Arizona Chief District Judge John M. Roll and the attempted assassination of Giffords, but how Loughner should be punished is not as black and white.

Loughner could face the death penalty as the result of his heinous crime. He may be tried on the federal level and, interestingly enough, Arizona has supported the death penalty since reenactment of capital punishment in 1973.

The Tucson tragedy that left six dead and 14 wounded brings the debate of the death penalty to life. Economic and moral factors create divergence in deciding whether the death penalty is an effective and appropriate solution for punishment. Currently, 35 states have the death penalty and there were 46 executions nationwide in 2010. Moreover, there are 3261 convicts that are still on death row since January 1, 2010. The events in Tucson remind us that as a union focused on serving justice, along with being economically feasible and ethically humane, the death penalty should be reviewed.

Often the mindset many citizens encompass fits with the proverb, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." The belief that the closest restoration to justice can only be reached upon ending the life of the criminal is a moral stance creating supporters of the death penalty. Economically, many people look at a life sentence with no parole as a "free ride" for criminals because citizens' tax dollars are used to feed, clothe, and house inmates - tax dollars that could be better spent. The fear of having evil criminals alive in our nation, while paying for them is valid; however, I do not believe killing someone to calm our fears is the best solution. In many cases, is the criminal not being punished for the very act of murder?

A 2009 Radelet and Lacock survey given to former and current presidents of the country's top academic criminological societies shows "88 percent of these experts rejected the notion that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder." Ending murder on all levels is the overall goal of punishing a criminal in a homicide case. Capital punishment is an oxymoron in and of itself. These arguments favor ending the death penalty on the grounds that it is not effective in preventing future murders or ethically an appropriate form of punishment.

Elaine de Leon, communications coordinator for the Death Penalty Information Center, explains reasons why the death penalty is not economically effective either saying, "the death penalty is not the best use of state budgets when it comes to crime." de Leon continues to explain that though the actual drugs used to carry out an execution are expensive, the majority of the cost is in the process of placing a convict on death row. Such cases require two trials, two defense attorneys, impeccable experts and the cases are lengthy with extensive research to make sure the criminal is not innocent. In the end only one third of these cases end up in execution, but tax payers are paying for all of the trials.

The Los Angeles Times states: "The California death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the costs of keeping the convicts locked up for life. Taxpayers have paid more than $250 million for each of the state's executions."

This money must be cut from education and other funding when 66 percent of the time the convict will end up living in jail anyway.

Undisputedly, Loughner must be punished for the crimes he committed. However, we must evaluate how much we are willing to pay for justice and what else we may lose on the way. Is taking millions of dollars away from other funds and ending another life more valuable and effective than making a monstrous criminal experience endless pain while rotting away inside a cold, hard jail cell? The price for justice is high.