Death penalty, a needed form of punishment

The death penalty has been a form of a capital punishment since biblical times. Today, 62 percent of Americans support the death penalty, for those convicted of murder. In fact, that support is bipartisan, with 87 percent of Republicans and 51 percent of Democrats supporting the death penalty.

Today, five forms of the death penalty exist: hanging, lethal injection, electrocution, firing squad, and lethal gas.

The death penalty has been reserved for some of the most notorious criminals. Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, notorious serial killers, and Saddam Hussein, an infamous war criminal, all saw the justice of the death penalty.

In the past, the chances of an innocent man or woman being convicted to die was high. However, due to advances in DNA testing and other crime science technologies, that chance is far lower.

Why should mass murders, serial killers, and child rapists be allowed to live at the taxpayers’ expense? What does it say about our justice system when families pay for the costs of the person who murdered or raped one of their family members? The families of those murdered rightfully deserve justice, not the bill for the murderer.

While some critics may say the death penalty is unconstitutional, they’re not entirely correct. Under the Fifth Amendment, it states that no person shall be deprived of life without due process of law.  With a proper investigation and a proper trial, it is constitutional for someone to be sentenced to death.

According to recent studies, it was determined that the death penalty saves lives. In fact, for each inmate executed, three to 18 murders are prevented. Those studies showed that when more executions are performed, the murder rates fall.

The death penalty is used only on those who commit capital offenses. On a list of capital offenses, almost all of them are extremely awful. Why should someone who commits these crimes be allowed to live?

The death penalty ought to be kept in order to save lives, reduce the number of horrible criminals, and to give victims proper justice.