"I believe that more people would be alive today if there were a death penalty. Nancy Reagan. The death penalty has been a form of justice throughout history, including in colonial America, where figures like Jefferson, Rush, and Bradford influenced its reform. In the 19th century, some U.S. states reduced capital crimes and moved executions to prisons, with Pennsylvania leading in 1834, followed by Michigan's abolition of the death penalty for all crimes except treason in 1846. Despite these reforms, many states retained capital punishment, expanding its use. By 1963, mandatory death sentences had been largely abolished, and the electric chair was introduced. Between 1907 and 1917, six states abolished the death penalty, but societal concerns…show more content… The death penalty is significantly cheaper than life in prison. Life in prison costs taxpayers money every year in order to keep the convicted behind bars and the people of this nation safe. However, the death penalty is a one-time cost that will cost less. The death penalty is the usual alternative—life in prison without the possibility of parole—imposing a financial burden on taxpayers (about $60,000-$70,000 per death row inmate per year, according to a recent estimate). (cato.org) A common argument against the cost of the death penalty is that the death penalty actually costs more with the prolonged trials and the cost of the actual execution. This, however, is invalid due to the fact that death penalty trials and life in-prison trials are the same lengths and due to the fact that the cost of an execution is a one-time cost while keeping a criminal in prison for life costs a lot more over time to the taxpayers of America. "Spending per prisoner varies widely across states, from about $18,000 per prisoner in Mississippi to $135,978 per prisoner in Wyoming in
