Why does the US still have the death penalty?

Answer 1

We still have the death penalty because people don’t yet know the facts. Here are just a few.

The death penalty is not a deterrent. Homicide rates are higher in states that have the death than in states which do not have it. Most people who commit murder do not think they will be caught (if they think at all.)

The death penalty system costs much more than a system that does not have the death penalty. Much of these extra costs come way before the appeals begin. This money ought to be spent on crime prevention methods of proven value- including more and better trained police, and more sophisticated police methods and for victims’ services which are always underfunded.

Over 120 people on death rows have been released with evidence of their innocence. In the majority of these cases, the evidence was not DNA, which is not often available. More often, the problem is one of mistaken eyewitnesses. After an execution, the case is closed. If the wrong person was executed the real killer is still out there.

The death penalty is racially biased, but not in the way you may think. A defendant is twice as likely to face the death penalty if the victim was white than if the victim was non white.

More and more states have life without parole on the books. It means what it says and is no picnic to be locked up for 23 of 24 hours a day, with no hope of anything else.

The death penalty can be very hard on the families of murder victims. As the process goes on they are forced to relive their ordeal in the courts and in the media. Life without parole is sure and swift and rarely appealed.

Speeding up the process as some of the answers suggest would guarantee the execution of an innocent person, something most Americans would find intolerable.

We should make up our minds about the death penalty using common sense based on the facts, not on revenge. Doing this does not mean we excuse depraved acts or the people who commit them. They should be severely punished.

Answer 2

because it's politically popular.
statistics show that the majority of voting Americans want to keep the death penalty. so even if a politician wants to get rid of it, (s)he can't because doing something like that will get him/her voted out of office immediately.
it's a facinating thing. we're the only major super power nation in the world that still has it. Every other country that compares to us (meaning England, France, Japan, etc) thinks of the death penalty as barbaric and got rid of it years ago

Answer 3

The US still has the death penatly because....it's a deserving punishment for the inmates senteced to die. Also we have the death penalty because our prison system is overcrowded due to our ridiculous laws that put people who commit victimless "crimes", such as drugs in prison for just about as long as any death-row inmate and longer.

Why shouldn't the US have the death penalty

Answer 4

Adding to what Susan said, the US has more inmates per captia than any other nation, including Communist China.
The US is one of the few nations, along with middle eastern countries, still practicing the barbaric custom of killing convicts and many have been proven not guilty after the execution.

It's bloodlust, nothing more.

Answer 5

We do have it but it takes so damn long for the whole thing to happen that we rather not have it at all.

These criminals sit on death row for years and years while we pay for their dental plan, plastic surgery, toilet paper, etc. etc.etc

Answer 6

Yes

Answer 7

Two Words: Timothy Mcveigh

Answer 8

Because it is needed to keep you safe from all the crazies out there that would cause you harm if they were allowed to go free.

Answer 9

Because some crimes warrent the death penalty..

Answer 10

if you think that some people shouldn't be put to death for their evil acts your crazy. killers, murders, child molesters, lets let them out, and then you can live with them, I'll let you borrow my gun, and see how long it takes them to kill you or you them.