My thoughts
The death penalty is viewed differently by each individual. Some believe there should be a death penalty and then there are others who feel the death penalty is too cruel. Capital punishment is not meant to be fair. If one chooses to murder another person, they should be put to death, no questions asked. In my opinion, there should be a death penalty and the fact that there's a moratorium on it or it's trying to be abolished all together is ridiculous. These people behind bars chose to take another human beings life and chose to commit a crime that they knew there would be a consequence for their actions.
By having the death penalty, things can be prevented. It can prevent future crimes. Many killers go to prison for life, with nothing to lose, because it takes so long to get put to death that they usually die before the death penalty can come into play. Many prisoners die from old age before there sentence ever gets carried out. The death penalty gives these criminals something to worry about and if not worry, at least it makes them think twice about the crime that they may be committing. It has been argued that capital punishment is not a determent, that criminals who commit murder are not deterred in their murderous intent by the possibility of getting condemned to death. Perhaps this may be true, but if one executes a criminal, that criminal will no longer commit another murder. We need to think and be proactive in the first place then this can eliminate future problems. Once a murderer is executed there is no chance that he or she will break out of jail or get parole and kill or injure someone. Execution would be a done deal, getting rid of just one killer could save multiple lives.
Citizens, the ones that actually follow the rules and work hard for their money, get punished because of these criminals. By keeping these criminals in prison for a couple of years or even for life, is wasting our tax dollars to allow these criminals to stay alive so that they can get free health care, three meals a day, exercise, a place to sleep, and leisure time. What is worse is that they do not have to work to pay for these things. Our tax money should not be going toward this but instead to more beneficial social programs. The death penalty can eliminate incarcerated people thus allowing our tax dollars to be put to better use.
Justice is only justice if it is done in a timely manner. We owe it to the victims, their families and friends, and to the public that deserves to have a functional judicial system. Eliminating capital punishment may possibly save the state a little money now, but what about in the long run? Would the state not be spending more money on keeping criminals alive? The bottom line is, the death penalty helps to prevent future crimes, allows tax money to go to better use, and also gives the victim's family and friends a peace of mind.
Other thoughts
I held an interview with Officer John Young, who has been with the Glendale Police Department for thirty years, he was asked about his take on capital punishment. This is what Officer Young had to say:
Most police officers believe in the death penalty, but not as it is "implemented" in most states today. Other than in maybe Texas or Florida, the death penalty in our country is a penalty in name only as very few people ever receive it. In California, the so called "death penalty" is a joke. It is not at all uncommon for a convicted criminal sentenced to death to spend life to ripe old age while sitting on death row. Now the argument about the death penalty costing too much. The death penalty cases, the trail, and appeals portions does cost more than a similar trail in which the penalty of death is not on the table, but those costs could be substantially reduced by having a real death penalty in which people actually, and in a timely manner, get the penalty. There is currently a debate on the moratorium on our state on the death penalty because of the anti-death penalty crowd feels that a convicted murderer might feel pain when he or she gets their shot in the arm. We routinely inoculate our young children with the same level of pain. That argument is preposterous on its face and it makes a mockery out of the death penalty.
