The ultimate punishment is death. Capital punishment is administered when an individual is convicted of committing serious crimes in which people have been killed. The death penalty is a very heated issue. Arguments are made through moral, economic and practical perspectives. Many points, such as whether the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, are argued both ways in research, making the death penalty a very complex and difficult topic. The numerous arguments in support of the death penalty provide two clear positions, and although both sides have very valuable data and extensive points, the final decision is that the death penalty should not be abolished. Some of the arguments made against the death penalty concern the morality of the death penalty. problem. Some people argue that all human beings In Washington, death penalty cases cost over a million dollars more than cases where there is no death penalty (Financial Facts on the Death Penalty). When morality is put out of question, the death penalty is not the right choice because it is too expensive. Amnesty International reports that the current system in California costs $137 million per year, but without the death penalty it would only cost about $11.5 million (Death Penalty Cost). All this money saved by avoiding the death penalty could be diverted to other programs which could include improving policing or Professor Lamperti concluded that research has shown no deterrent effect, while others say it has an effect (Lamperti) . Ernest van den Haag, a law professor at Fordham University, says states with high murder rates that have the death penalty would have an even higher murder rate without the death penalty (The Death Penalty Prevents Future Murders) . Furthermore, if life imprisonment was a worse punishment, then why do convicted criminals like Tsnaravez, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, seek life imprisonment instead of death?