Effects of Capital Punishment on Correctional Systems
Capital punishment is a government-sanctioned practice where criminals are punished by executing them after legal trials. Capital punishment is popularly referred to as the death penalty. In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty that is practiced by the federal and some state correctional systems. Capital punishment is imposed on serious crimes such as treason, murder, and drug trafficking (Fleming, 2016). Currently, 31 state governments in the United States practice capital punishment. However, the crime rate between the states that have abolished and that practice capital punishment is almost the same. Capital punishment has positive and negative effects on the individuals, federal, and state correctional systems.
Capital punishment imposes high financial costs to the taxpayers while financing the correctional systems. Both the federal and states government have to part with a huge amount of resources before executing capital punishment on a criminal. The cost of carrying out a death sentence is much higher than the cost of life imprisonment (Desai & Garrett, 2018). Evidence that is beyond any reasonable doubt is required before issuing death punishment. The collection of clear evidence calls for more resources. Capital punishment is accompanied by long legal procedures. The legal procedure allows the suspect to appeal several times before the final decision is arrived at. The legal wrangling for death punishment can last for more than 15 years. As a result, a lot of resources that could have been used by the federal and state governments for development matters are wasted on financing the court facilities.
The barbaric and inhumane nature of capital punishment destroys the image of the federal and states correctional systems that carry out the practice (Garrett, 2017). Putting criminals to death is viewed by many as the violation of the bill of rights. Some individuals have lost trust in their state governments for administering death sentences, which affects the growth of the states. The federal government upholds and practices the capital punishment policy. The policy depicts America as a vengeful and violent nation that kills its citizens. The death penalty has contributed to anti-Americanism, which deters many European countries from collaborating with the federal government in economic matters. Death sentence exposes the family members of the victim to intense physical and psychological suffering. Seeing loved ones been put to death by the state has caused some family members to migrate from their states to the other states. Life imprisonment is a more effective deterrent as compared to capital punishment. Some serial criminals may prefer to be killed instantly than suffering the humiliation of life imprisonment.
Capital punishment cause correctional systems to minimize the crime rate to some extent. Without deterring people from committing some serious offenses against humanity, crime would run rampant in society (Desai & Garrett, 2018). Capital and prison punishments are the common punishments that federal and state can administer to criminals. However, some criminals seem to be used to be in prison. Therefore, capital punishment widens the variety of punishments that can be offered, which deters individuals from committing crimes. The death penalty creates a deterrent to criminals serving life sentences. While at the prison, people who are under life imprisonment can abuse their fellow prisoners because life sentences cannot be extended. Also, criminals under life imprisonment can escape from prisons and continue with their criminal life in society. Therefore, the death penalty provides a deterrent for prisoners, which reduces the crime rate. No individual who wishes to be killed by the federal or the state correctional system. Therefore, the fear that comes with capital punishment can effectively reduce crimes. With reduced crimes, the correctional systems do not suffer the burden of handling many cases.
Death sentence serves as a better justice to the victims who have suffered from the committed crime (Sarat, 2018). Some crimes, such as murder and rape, can have a lasting effect on the victims. Some victims may take decades to recover from the crime experiences, and others may never recover. Putting criminals who have committed these types of crimes in prison makes the victims feel unsafe as they feel that the criminals are still around to haunt them. A death sentence of the criminals closes a horrible chapter for this kind of victim, which fastens their recovery. The principle that punishment should have the same magnitude as the crime is a fundamental principle of justice. If someone commits to murder, the person should also be killed to achieve the fundamental principle for justice. The justice system should put more emphasis on protecting the victims rather than sympathizing with the criminals. Through capital punishment, the victim is protected from suffering again by eliminating the criminal. Therefore, capital punishment serves as a better justice and protects the victims from future attacks.
In conclusion, capital punishment has both pros and cons to federal and states correctional systems. Capital punishment is accompanied by lengthy legal procedures. Before a federal or state correctional system ends a death sentence row, a lot of resources are required. Capital punishment paints correctional systems as barbaric and revengeful rather than corrective. The death penalty is an effective method of reducing the crime rate in society. Through capital punishment, correctional systems serve a better justice to the victims by adhering to the principle of justice.
References
Desai, A., & Garrett, B. L. (2018). The State of the Death Penalty. Notre Dame L. Rev., 94, 1255.
Fleming, K. P. (2016). The International Lethal Injection Drug Boycott and Its Effects on the Death Penalty in the United States.
Garrett, B. (2017). End of its rope: How killing the death penalty can revive criminal justice. Harvard University Press.
Sarat, A. (2018). When the state kills: Capital punishment and the American condition. Princeton University Press.