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ABM-3
1. Death penalty costs the government less as opposed to life imprisonment without parole.
Proponents say despite expenses incurred by the government from imposing capital punishment, death penalty is
still cheaper compared to the costs of life without parole. Although there is no contention that the cost of the former
is high, life imprisonment is accumulatively higher given the expenses for food, health care and other costs of
sustaining the lives of incarcerated individuals serving life.
4. It is constitutional and does not violate the Eight Amendment which prohibits the federal government from
imposing excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishments, including torture.
Advocates of death penalty say that the pain associated with the execution of a death row inmate is not improbable.
Even the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Eight Amendment challenge which stated that the drug used to render
the criminal coma-like unconscious before injecting the lethal drug is not capable to do so completely. The Supreme
Court was firm on its stand that any method of execution definitely will inflict some pain and states with capital
punishment have already adopted more humane methods to carry out executions.
5. Death penalty is a just punishment for crimes committed against the rights to life, freedom and safety of victims.
It is the right of an individual to live peacefully and be free from harm. Unfortunately, crimes like murder, rape and
assault are committed by perpetrators who have no regard for life and property of others. Since they violate other
people’s lives, it is but fair that they are brought to justice and suffer the fate they rightfully deserve. People who are
for capital punishment also talk about free will wherein an individual is given the right to do things in his or her own
volition and he or she is responsible for his or her own fate.
List of Cons of Death Penalty
2. In relation to free will, some criminals are suffering from mental illness or are having clouded judgment at the time
of the crime.
Opponents contend that there are instances where people commit pre-meditated crimes and are aware of what they
are doing. However, it does not discount the fact that crimes can also be committed out of passion or extreme anger
triggered by a situation which makes an offender act on impulse. There are also those who are suffering from mental
illnesses and are not taking medication which can lead to them committing offenses they have no control of.