Capital PunishmentMurder, a common occurrence in American society, is considered a horrific and reprehensible atrocity. Why then do we think differently when the state government organizes and executes a human being, which is the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, revealing several inequalities and weaknesses, demonstrating the need to abolish it. Upon examination, it is found that capital punishment is economically weak and deficient. A common misconception about the death penalty is that the cost of executing a convicted criminal is less than putting them in prison for life without the possibility of parole. Due to the American legal system, the appeal process, which is inevitable in death penalty cases, is extremely expensive and time consuming. The cost of a capital trial and execution can be two to six times the amount of money needed to house and feed a prisoner for life. "Studies show that incarceration costs about $20,000 per inmate per year ($800,000 if a person lives 40 years in prison). Research also shows that reducing the death penalty costs about $2 million dollars per execution” (Kaplan 2). Capital punishment is extremely costly and deprives state governments of money that could be used for a wide range of beneficial programs. As Black Enterprise author Belolyn Wiliams-Harold writes, county governments are generally responsible for prosecution costs and criminal trial costs, including attorney fees and courtroom member salaries. hearing. All of this money is spent at the expense of corrections and crime prevention programs, which are already cash-strapped (Williams-Harlod 1). These “financial constraints,” such as capital punishment, do not promote a healthy business society, but cost and harm the public. In addition to being economically unhealthy, the death penalty is socially biased. A class system seems to be present in the United States of America nowadays, and the lower classes almost seem to be discriminated against by the upper classes. This is also true for capital punishment. Ed Bishop of the St. Louis Journalism Review writes that these members of a lower class cannot escape the death penalty. At the height of...... middle of paper ......l punishment as a just and morally sound method of justice. After all, the principle of “an eye for an eye” seemed to be a logic that many considered correct. We now live in an era of closer examination of what is truly right, morally ethical and economically viable. A consequence must be fair, humane and effective. Does capital punishment meet these criteria? There are compelling reasons to change the system we have blindly cheered for. Hopefully we are implementing a new way to confront an age-old dilemma.Works CitedBishop, Ed. St. Louis Journalism Review, “Anti-Death Penalty Stance.” V29, March 1999. http://source.unco.edu/. Cummings, Ryan. The Economist, “Most advanced countries have abolished capital punishment.” V351, May 15, 1999. http://source.unco.edu/.Kaplan, David A. Newsweek, “Capital Punishment.” V129, June 16, 1997. http://source.unco.edu/. Kilé, David. The Christian Century, “Doubts about the death penalty”. V116, February 24, 1999. http://source.unco.edu/. Williams-Harold, Belolyn. Black Enterprise, “Facts and Figures: A Costly Matter of Life and Death.” V29, September 1998. http://source.unco.edu/.