Death Penalty Vs. Life Without Parole

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Morality vs. Justice “In particular, each execution results, on average, in 18 fewer murders”-Emory University. This study reveals the strong deterring effect of the death sentence on would be murderers, resulting in many saved innocent lives. Although not all people recognize the role capital punishment plays in protecting the citizens of this country, the strong moral message displayed by this extreme punishment shows that the American government will not stand for the taking away of innocent life. The texts When Murderers Die, Innocents Live by Jeff Jacoby, Weighing the Death Penalty vs. Life Without Parole by Amanda Hess, Why the Death Penalty Needs To Die by Nick Gillespie and “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, all debate the morality of the …show more content…
Many will argue that the death penalty is immoral, claiming that life without parole is far more humane than executing the prisoner. However, in reality, the punishment simply does not fit the crime. People who have taken the lives of others deserve to be treated no better than their victims, and therefore should be put to death. Amanda Hess claims in her neutral article, Weighing the Death Penalty vs. Life Without Parole, that life without parole “ensures an offender will never see the outside of a prison cell again, effectively [replacing] death.” No matter what Hess says, life without parole will never be able to fully replace the death sentence. Although life without parole lacks the moral consequences associated with the capital punishment, it simply is not harsh enough on murderers. The criminals that would be effected by life without parole deserve to be treated no better than the people they killed. Anton Chekhov reflects a point similar to Hess’ in his neutral short story “The Bet”. One of the anti-death sentence supporters in the story claims that “to live anyhow is better than not at all” (108). Although many are caught by the illusion that this statement is fair, it simply isn’t. Anton Chekhov’s point “to live anyhow is better than not at all” goes on to prove the opposite point, that life without parole is too soft on murderers, the worst type of criminals. The fact that these criminals are kept alive goes to show the incorrect message that murder is like any other crime, punishable by jail time. Life without parole simply lacks the certain connotations associated with execution; the same morale messages that make killers think twice before acting on violent impulse. Jeff Jacoby is correct when he claims in his pro death sentence article When Murderers Die, Innocents Live that “a society that sentences killers to nothing worse than prison… is a society that
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