Every year, there are many people who are killed due to the practice of the death penalty.  The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is a process that executes those who are convicted of committing a capital crime.

This year, there are two ballot measures that deal with this very issue. Proposition 62 and 66.

Proposition 62 

Proposition 62 is the repeal of the death penalty.

Rather than being executed, inmates would live a life without the possibility of parole and spend the rest of their time in a cell working and paying the victim’s family that they had affected.

Democrats tend to favor this view

Proposition 66

Proposition 66 would speed up the process of the death penalty.

Proposition 66 shortens the amount of time that legal challenges are allowed to be made against death sentences to a maximum of 5 years

Republicans tend to favor this view

How does the death penalty work?

Most states prefer the lethal injection method, which is when they give you a shot that kills you. Some states use alternative ways such as the gas chamber and hanging.

Lethal injections do not work 100% of the time, and they are very expensive to obtain.

Why is the death penalty ineffective?

Many innocent individuals are sentenced to the death penalty even though they may have been completely uninvolved. The fact that innocent people are convicted guilty makes me question the use of capital punishment.

By implementing this practice in our government system, we are potentially risking the lives of many.  Since the death penalty is prone to contain errors, it makes it inhumane and gives our country a negative appearance.  

Capital punishment does not deter crime in any manner. 

Money

The death penalty wastes money, time, and resources.

As shown in the chart, there are many expenses that come with an execution.  Since our economy is at a low point, it would only make sense that we fully eliminate this costly penalty.

Time

Between death row and the actual sentence, the average time it takes to execute someone is about 15 years.  This fact alone is a good enough reason as to why this system is ineffective.  California could put all this time and money toward other reasonable plans.

Rather than killing the guilty individual, we a give them a life sentence in jail.  Think about it, would you rather spend the rest of your life agonizing and suffering in a small cell, or take the easy way out and be executed? Most would choose execution.  This method is also more effective due to the fact that the inmate would work and make financial restitution to the family.

(side note: California is known to have the largest death row with approximately 750 people)

Just across the bay, the prison located in San Quentin holds 700 of those inmates

 

Possible arguments for Proposition 66

Those who support proposition 66 say that when criminals know that death is the consequence, they will be less likely to commit crimes.

However, statistics have proven that the death penalty actually raises the amount of crimes that occur in our country.

Where it’s headed 

The death penalty is an archaic and ineffective use of punishment that has no place in modern government. In order to stop this procedure from taking place in our society, it is imperative that you vote yes on proposition 62, and no on proposition 66.

After the election on November 8th, it was shown that Proposition 66 was passed, and proposition 62 was defeated.