According to statistics, the majority of those sentenced to death were poor. Court-appointed lawyers were given to the accused since ninety percent were unable to afford a lawyer themselves. Is it unfair that well-off murderers can escape the death penalty for being able to hire a lawyer while the poorer, unable to pay, are executed.
Contradictory to what most people think, states with death penalty have higher homicide rates in general than those that do not. One may deduce that the death penalty "cheapens the value of life." In other countries that have recently banned the death penalty, homicide rates interestingly have gone down. Since statistics show that countries without executions have lower homicide rates, shouldn't one agree that we are better off without the death penalty?
Several methods of the death penalty also violate the 8th Amendment of the US Bill of Rights. Sentencing one to death by lethal injection, poison gas, electric chair, and the firing squad are all deemed as "cruel and unusual punishments." In Angel Nieves Diaz's case of lethal injection, some suspect that her death was not quick and painless. Due to incorrect procedure, it is suspected that Diaz suffered a long, drawn-out death, experiencing minutes of painful paralysis. The electric chair also remains vague in that no one knows whether the death experience is painful or not, or how long until one becomes dead. Some estimate that death comes in four to ten minutes.
Recently, race has played a role in determining sentencing. One who murders a white man will be more likely to be sentenced to death than one who murders a black man. Statistics further dictate that fifty-five percent of racial minorities are put to death. Many assume that keeping one in jail for a lifetime imprisonment costs more than the simple lethal injection. Contradictory to that belief, the endless appeals, procedures, and legal issues add to the cost of the lethal injection – two to five times the cost of lifetime imprisonment. Prisoners may also be placed on death row for over fifteen years. These never-ending appeals waste time when other more important factors can be carried out in the courts. Appeals require time from judges, attorneys, and other court clerks for several years. Also allowing prisoners to serve lifetime imprisonment may not be an easier punishment but rather a more reflective and suffering experience. It is not necessary to drag on the pain in the victim's family for years.
Although technological advances with DNA have decreased the chance of sentencing innocent prisoners to death, there still is always a possibility that one may be sentenced innocently. States like Texas are quick to execute: 40% on death row are sentenced to death whereas California has only sentenced 1% of its death row.
Statistics prove that the death sentences have been declining since the 1990's. Fifteen years ago, three hundred death sentences were given. By 2000, 250 sentences were given, and by 2005 only 128 prisoners were sentenced to death.
