Present
The death penalty is still in use now, but it is not used as much as it used to be. Because of the different beliefs that many people have (whether they be religious or other things of that nature). Even though many people are sentenced to the death penalty every year, not all of them are actually followed through with. Many of the sentences are overturned, and many of the inmates on death row have to wait in suspense until their punishment is fulfilled.
Other problems regarding the death penalty in our modern day society include the high expenses of actually putting someone to death. Taxpayers are the people who pay to put the inmates to death, and for one execution (including the trial and all of the necessary components to the execution) it costs 2-5 million dollars on average. When you compare that cost to that of a life sentence without parole, which is only 1-2 million dollars, it makes more sense when talking about money to just have the inmate serve a lifetime in prison. In a state like Texas where the most executions occur annually, a lot of the taxes the citizens pay go to funding the application of the death penalty. States that have abolished the death penalty (like Maryland) use those taxes that were previously used for that purpose to fund antiviolence organizations and other things to prevent capital crimes.
Other problems regarding the death penalty in our modern day society include the high expenses of actually putting someone to death. Taxpayers are the people who pay to put the inmates to death, and for one execution (including the trial and all of the necessary components to the execution) it costs 2-5 million dollars on average. When you compare that cost to that of a life sentence without parole, which is only 1-2 million dollars, it makes more sense when talking about money to just have the inmate serve a lifetime in prison. In a state like Texas where the most executions occur annually, a lot of the taxes the citizens pay go to funding the application of the death penalty. States that have abolished the death penalty (like Maryland) use those taxes that were previously used for that purpose to fund antiviolence organizations and other things to prevent capital crimes.
Future
If the use of the death penalty continues to decrease in states, then that would result in many things. One of the major benefits of the reduction of the punishment in states is the extra funding money. As previously stated, the cost for one execution ranges from about 2-5 million dollars that is all paid for with taxes. The states that have abolished the penalty use those extra taxes/government funds to support organizations that are trying to prevent capital crimes from happening.
Most people put on death row wait for their sentence to be fulfilled for many years and some do not even happen. With that, even more expenses have to be paid because of a potential appeal case in the court and the inmate’s food and necessities while being held in prison for the waiting time.
Most people put on death row wait for their sentence to be fulfilled for many years and some do not even happen. With that, even more expenses have to be paid because of a potential appeal case in the court and the inmate’s food and necessities while being held in prison for the waiting time.