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Michael O'Malley is a senior studying political science at Ohio University.

For What It's Worth: Capital punishment may not be moral or cost-effective

Capital punishment has been a cornerstone of state power stretching back to the origins of civilization. 

The Code of Hammurabi, one of the first recorded legal codes, prescribes the death penalty for 25 different crimes and the Hebrew Bible recommends capital punishment for more than 20 offenses. While the Draconian Code of ancient Athens recommended death as punishment for all crimes regardless of severity. Even Jesus of Nazareth was put to death by the Romans. The coercive power of the threat of execution has kept citizens in line for centuries, but this model appears unsustainable as we move forward.

In the 1976 case of Gregg v. Georgia, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in which it confirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment, thus ending a four-year moratorium on execution in place since Furman v. Georgia. 

Through this decision, the court also established criteria for constitutional death sentencing procedures. These criteria included measures designed to increase objectivity in sentencing and provided for the institution of an expansive appellate process. The end goal of these reforms was the establishment of a more just and less arbitrary system of capital punishment. However, these reforms had another unintended consequence: they drove the cost of exacting a capital punishment through the roof.

It is estimated that the execution of a death sentence will cost approximately one million dollars more than the cost of keeping an inmate in prison for life. In 2015, there were 28 persons executed in the United States — representing a 23-year low. This means that last year, $28 million in taxpayer money were diverted from other sectors to kill a handful of people that we already had in jail. That money could have been spent on investments in education or infrastructure but instead it was wasted.

All of this begs the question: is the return on this colossal investment worth the costs? Are we safer for it? Is society better for it? The short answer is “No” on all three accounts. As studies have shown time and time again, the death penalty is no more effective as a deterrent of crime than a sentence of life without parole. Furthermore, as Victor Hugo noted, “Crime is redeemed by remorse, but not by a blow of the axe or slipknot. Blood has to be washed by tears but not by blood.”

Given the questionable morality of state sponsored execution and the high costs associated with the process of capital punishment, capital justice seems not only untenable, but borderline criminal.

Michael O'Malley is a senior studying political science at Ohio University. How do you feel about capital punishment? Email your thoughts to Michael at mm913812@ohio.edu.

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