Consumers Digest

Special Report: Reconsidering the Death Penalty?

The Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments on Jan. 7 in Baze v. Rees, a case that challenges the constitutionality of lethal injection as currently administered by the federal government and 36 states. In the past week, New Jersey became the first state to abolish the death penalty since 1976, and the United Nations passed a resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions. A Pew Forum Special Report examines the current status of capital punishment in America, analyzes the arguments before the high court and looks at 50 years of public opinion on the issue. What do you think?

Public Comments

1. The death penalty works, no repeat offenders.
2. Old faithful -Electrocution-
3. im all for the death penalty. eye for an eye...
4. You don't have to sympathize with criminals or want them to avoid a terrible punishment to ask if the death penalty prevents or even reduces crime and to think about the risks of executing innocent people. Sources below. 125 people on death rows have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted. DNA is available in less than 10% of all homicides and isn’t a guarantee we won’t execute innocent people. The death penalty doesn't prevent others from committing murder. No reputable study shows the death penalty to be a deterrent. To be a deterrent a punishment must be sure and swift. The death penalty is neither. Homicide rates are higher in states and regions that have it than in those that don’t. We have a good alternative. Life without parole is now on the books in 48 states. It means what it says. It is sure and swift and rarely appealed. Life without parole is less expensive than the death penalty. The death penalty costs much more than life in prison, mostly because of the legal process which is supposed to prevent executions of innocent people. The death penalty isn't reserved for the worst crimes, but for defendants with the worst lawyers. It doesn't apply to people with money. When is the last time a wealthy person was on death row, let alone executed? The death penalty doesn't necessarily help families of murder victims. Murder victim family members across the country argue that the drawn-out death penalty process is painful for them and that life without parole is an appropriate alternative. Problems with speeding up the process. Over 50 of the innocent people released from death row had already served over a decade. If the process is speeded up we are sure to execute an innocent person. New Jersey did the right thing and in the right way. It instituted a year long study commission before taking up an abolition bill. Among the many witnesses before the commission were families of murder victims who do not support the death penalty. I have included a link to the commission report, below.
5. I support the idea of capital punishment. (though, actually, not for the purpose of punishment. I just want murderers wiped off the face of the Earth). But it does seem that the civilized world has turned away from it. Perhaps they're of the opinion that it can never really be done correctly? Maybe we need to think about that. The only thing I ask is, if we're going to do away with it, then killers must never get out of prison.
6. Finally, the wise ones are taking a good look at the barbaric practice of legal murder. There is no absolute way to be sure that the condemned is innocent or guilty, and many have already been freed from death row due to DNA. Executing even ONE innocent person is unforgivable. We've seen the tests performed to expose the evidence of "eye witness", when several different people see different things. If the convicted is guilty and gets life w/o parole, it will be cheaper than years of tax-paid lawyers and appeals. Also, it is not a deterrent to others who do not expect to be caught! There is no joy or relief in anyone's premature death.
7. The death penalty works for me...if you kill mine...I'll kill you. NJ did the right thing?? Please...being from NJ...people live their lives there under the motto of "In Jersey, anything's legal, as long as you don't get caught."