Essay, Research Paper: To Execute Or Not To Execute

In analyzing the death penalty in the United States, it is easy to see that people take one side or the
other. People will be either for the death penalty or against it, very few are ever half way.
There are many pros and cons to look at and evaluate on the use of the death penalty in the
United States, for example, in Florida the electric chair is the means of execution. Florida's electric
chair has many controversies surrounding it, but there is one major issue that seems to be
conducting a lot of heat lately.
Activists against the electric chair or "Old Sparky" as it was recently named, due to an inmate's hair
igniting, argue that it is a cruel and unusual punishment. These activists seem to urge the point of
the enormous price difference between execution and a sentence of life in prison. According to
recent numbers, in Florida alone it costs an average of $3.2 million to execute a convicted criminal. Where as a life in prison would only cost six hundred thousand dollars. These activists also argue that the taking of a human's life is wrong and immoral no matter how many lives that person has taken.
On the other side of the spectrum lies the activists that are for execution. These activists argue
that the law states; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a cheek for a cheek, and a life for a life. If someone takes the life of another person, then they too deserve the ultimate punishment to pay for their sin. Even though there is an astronomical price difference in execution and a life sentence, these people demand justice be served. They might even say that we are not executing enough; according to recent studies, the execution rate is decreasing, while the inmates on death row are increasing.
In order to evaluate the pros and cons of execution one must take the side of pro execution or pro
life. As it stands, putting a convicted criminal behind bars for life is much more cost effective.
One must ask if the criminal really payed for what he or she has done? I feel that a person who
has taken another persons life will never truly be sorry until they pay the ultimate price-life.