States and Capital Punishment

Otherwise referred to as the death penalty, capital punishment is a sentence ordering a convicted offender to be killed as retribution for a committed crime. The death penalty has been around since the onset of civilization. As early as 621 BC, the death penalty was already being applied as punishment for certain crimes. In the United States, Capital punishment can be traced as far back as 1608 when the US was still a colony under the authority of the British Empire. However, while most countries have since abolished the use of the death penalty as punishment for crimes, it is still prominent in the United States with only 20 states opting against it in their laws.

Capital Punishment in the United States

Alongside gun laws, capital punishment is one of the biggest issues that divide people’s opinions in the United States. Several Americans believe that the death penalty is the only justified punishment for certain crimes. Others think that a death penalty could prove to be a threat to innocent lives as many people have previously been convicted for crimes they did not commit. Currently, capital punishment is legal in 31 states in the US. Michigan was the first state to completely abolish capital punishment in 1846 before several others followed suit. The most recent instance of a state abolishing the death penalty was recorded in 2013 when Maryland replaced capital punishment with a life sentence without a chance for parole. One of the more prominent evidence of just how much the death penalty divides opinion was the case of Nebraska who had abolished it in 2015 but had it reinstated a year later. If you have an assignment about the death penalty that is bothering you, you could visit Grades Fixer and check out quality samples that could make your work less stressful.

Offenses Considered Being Punishable By the Death Penalty in the United States

They include:

a) Treason

b) Espionage

c) Various kind of murder

Challenges Facing the Implementation of Capital Punishment in the States

The following challenges have made it particularly difficult for many states to implement the death penalty. They are:

1. Cost

It is estimated that prisoners facing capital punishment cost each state $90,000 more than a normal prisoner every year. These fees are funded by taxpayer’s money. It is understandable why many US citizens are not particularly thrilled with the idea of overpaying to kill a convicted criminal, putting more pressure on the States.

2. The Rarity Of Leather Injections

It is common knowledge that every state favoring the death penalty employ the use of leather injections as their primary means of execution. However, acquiring the drug combination for these injections have become increasingly difficult in recent time. While many manufacturers have stopped the production of these drugs, others simply refuse to sell them for executions. This has led several states to formulate a contingency plan to supplement their primary means of execution.

Conclusion

The United States remain the sole western country that has not completely abolished capital punishment. While many have argued that it is far too costly and has no place in a modern world, the 30 states currently in support of this punishment in the United States suggest it would take the far more substantial argument to convince many Americans that the death penalty should be abolished.