An Alternative to Capital Punishment

Recently "Tookie," a former gang leader from California was executed under California law. A few days ago, a man who killed a woman in 1985 was executed in Mississippi.

When I was younger, I gave the issue little thought and took it as normal that some people were so bad they had to be punished through death. It's what happened to the wolf in the fairy tale and the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz; surely this was a logical outcome in the real-world as well.

Now, however, my opinion on the matter has turned around completely. I offer below my two main reasons for supporting an abolition of the death penalty, and a rebuttal for one of its fiercest criticisms.

1. Sometimes we're wrong- Human beings are imperfect; to assume that our application of the death penalty is perfect would be a horrible mistake. Over 1,000 people have been executed since 1976 in the United States. Even if we were right about the verdict 99% of the time, that means ten innocent people have died as a result of the policy. If we were right 99.9% of the time, at least one person still died as a result of the policy. I don't know the exact accuracy rate (in truth we'll never know) but I wouldn't bet a lot of money that it's as high as 99%.

Is it worth it? Is killing one "good" person worth it, if we get to kill a lot of "bad" people in the meantime. I suggest that it is not.

Death is irrevocable- if we're wrong, we can't say "Sorry" and just dig the person up. It's done.

2. It's not the worst punishment- In my opinion, spending decades in prison could very well be a lot worse than getting killed. We must remember that, in our Constitution, we are guaranteed the rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Of course death destroys all these hopes, but imprisonment just destroys the last two. In my experience, it is much more difficult to live knowing there's something you can't have than to have the board wiped clean.

Similarly, life in prison means they're on "death row" anyway, so to speak. If anything, the extra twenty years in prison makes the sentence harder. It's one thing to die in prison, but it's another to die after shuffling around for a decade or longer, eating strained peas and struggling with arthritis. This not only kills your body, but your dignity. You would think those that want to kill people out of a sense of retribution would enjoy this method, but they'd rather get it over quick.

3. A Response to the Argument that it Costs Too Much- Most people, when told the two arguments above, fall back to this argument, which attempts to quantify the volitional taking of human life in economic terms. Marx would be so proud. At any rate, I've found a solution that should satiate those who fall on my side of the fence with those who advocate executions.

Let's make the prisoners pay for themselves through work. Not the chain-gang type work in Cool Hand Luke, mind you, but the same kind of work that the average American undertakes everyday. Certainly that wouldn't constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." I believe they used to make license plates at one time or another. Certainly that's not too much to ask of an alleged murderer. Perhaps they could sew shoes or make basketballs or whatnot. Little cottage industries.

If they refuse, take EVERYTHING away from them except the basics- water, bread, meat, a multivitamin, and a toilet.

I'm sure most of them would turn around pretty quickly.