Arguments against the death penalty For as long as recorded history, the death penalty has been a way to punish the worst crimes. The death penalty is still used in 36 American states. There are two most commonly used methods in the United States: lethal injection and electrocution. It may be that criminals sentenced to death are terrible people and should be punished for their crimes (usually murder). But I ask myself: what right does a human being have to decide that another human being should be sentenced to death? The death penalty should be abolished as a criminal punishment in the United States, and this essay will explain why. The first reason, and perhaps the most important to the American public, is cost. Many people believe that the death penalty is cheaper than prison time, but this is actually not the case. The death penalty is much more expensive than life without parole, as the Constitution requires a lengthy and complex judicial process for capital cases. This process is necessary to ensure that innocent men and women are not executed for crimes they did not commit, and even with these protections the risk of executing an innocent person cannot be completely eliminated. According to Amnestyinternational.com, a single capital punishment case typically costs between $1 million and $3 million per person. In exchange, keeping a person incarcerated without the possibility of release typically costs between $90,000 and $100,000 per person (“Cost of the Death Penalty”). It must also be taken into account that the majority of people sentenced to the death penalty can be imprisoned for var......middle of paper......robust with many flaws, and it does not even help society or the families of the victims . It can be said that the death penalty is the most aesthetic form of state hypocrisy; We kill people who kill people to prove that killing is wrong. This is the contradiction in politics that confuses many people and for these reasons the death penalty must be abolished as a criminal punishment. Works Cited1. "Stop the death penalty." Focus on the death penalty. Np, nd Web. 3 April 2014. <. www.deathpenalty.org/section.php?id=24>.2. “Cost of the Death Penalty.” Amnestyusa.org. Amnesty International. Network. 3 April 2014. .3. “Facts about the death penalty.” Amnestyusa.org. Amnesty International and Web. 3 April 2014. .