Sue Yon Kim

Ms. Oberg
B5 English
09.24.13
Life in Prison without Parole vs. the Death Penalty
The debate over capital punishment has been heating up and it is still on deciding
whether capital punishment is an effective form of penalty for criminals or not. Some says that
the death penalty violates the human rights and other says that the death penalty is an
appropriate system in order to punish criminals. Almost 30 states of the U.S. allow death
penalty. Since other states think that the death penalty is an act of killing so they voted to
abolish the death penalty use lethal injection or imprisonment.
So which one is the better option for criminals? Executions are considered as an
ultimate punishment of the crime. The logical alternative of capital punishment is life in prison
without parole. The death penalty is the better option that life in prison without parole. I have a
total confidence in executing death penalty. It prevents or may reduce murders and can save
innocent lives because it will scare those potential criminals and will protect both
individual and the society. A cost of imprisoning a criminal is very expensive when it is
compared to a cost of executing death penalty. Capital punishment is considered to be cost
effective. In California, home to the nations biggest death row population at 667, it costs an
extra $90,000 per inmate to imprison someone sentenced to death- an additional expense that
totals more than $63.3 million annually, according to a 2008 study by the states Commission
on the Fair Administration of Justice.
What if a sentenced murderer releases from a jail and they kill the people again

outside? There is also the possibility of sentenced prisoners to kill other prisoners inside jail. In
July 8, 2003, murderer Kenneth McDuff killed 8 more people after being released. In this case,
death penalty seems necessary to prevent released murderers from killing others. If he got an
execution, this could have not happened. According to Mr. Weisberg, Capital punishment may
well save lives, the two professors continued. Those who object to capital punishment, and
who do so in the name of protecting life, must come to terms with the possibility that the failure
to inflict capital punishment will fail to protect life. Death Penalty will assure the protection
from criminals and make the society safer.
The most interesting thing is that the few death row prisoners tried to commit suicide,
but never succeeded. Few convicted murders sentenced to life in prison wished they had been
killed by death penalty. A 50-year old Dodson, Ohio Franklin County, imprisoned since 1991
asked the Ohio Supreme Court to issue an immediate order for his execution. He sentenced of
up to 130 years. He said, I dont want to stay alive just to die in prison I would like to be put
to death. Another case, in Alabama, the court prepares to execute prisoner who wants to die.
Raising the possibility that the state is about to carry out what amounts to a government assisted
suicide. Christopher Johnson, the prisoner, will be killed by a lethal-injection and these
prisoners are called volunteers.

Even though the death penalty violates human rights, we cannot ignore the rights of
other innocent lives. It is a states or countrys responsibility to protect the people from getting
harmed.

Works Cited
Earle, Ronald. "Guarding Death's Door." Time. N.p., 3 July 2003. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
<http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001017>.
Johnson, Alan. "Inmate with Life Sentence Wants State to Execute Him." Dispatch. N.p., 31
May 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/05/31/inmate-with-life-sentenceasks-for-execution.html>.
Liptak, Adam. "Does Death Penalty save Lives? A New Debate." The New York Times. N.p., 18
Nov. 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/us/18deter.html?
pagewanted=all&_r=0>.
Lumsden, Marina. "Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for James Holmes: 5 Pros of Death
Penalty." Examiner. N.p., 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.examiner.com/article/prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-for-james-holmes-5pros-of-death-penalty>.