There is no straightforward answer to whether the death penalty is more effective than life in prison without parole. There need to be more studies to understand if the death penalty is better than life in prison. Life in prison is already torturous enough, so why does America still practice the death penalty in some states? Is there substantial proof that the death penalty has prevented a number of crimes? Does time in prison prevent people from committing crimes, or does it just prevent them from getting caught? Not only do professionals in the criminal justice system need to study this, so do victims. So do the normal, every day people who are living in this society. Lives are at stake, therefore, silence is not an option. Go out and vote. Post that controversial tweet. Protest in front of the courthouse. Be heard.

When asked why death row is more effective than life in prison without parole, Don Mahaney stated that Death row is an extremely mental situation that presses on the minds of death row inmates. “There is no freedom per say or the ability to converse or build a bonding friendly relationship with fellow inmates. Convicts who receive the death penalty sit in a one-man cell staring at walls and wondering how much longer do they have to live?” (D. Mahaney, personal interview, May 2019)

Furthermore, Mahaney believes that if a crime is extremely heinous in nature then those are the criminals that deserve to be put to death. He does state that there are some that criminals that may have committed a worse crime than those on death row that are serving life without parole, but it all comes down to what kind of plea deal the inmate received in court.

Additionally, Mahaney does indeed say that there has always been a racial bias when it comes to the death penalty. In his opinion, there have been many careful statistical studies indicating that race plays a significant role in determining who lives and who dies. “Prosecutors are more likely to seek the death penalty when the race of the victim is white and less likely when the race of the victim is African American.” (D. Mahaney, personal interview, May 2019)

There is a grey area in this debate, to be frank. The majority of “factual evidence” people provide to back up their information online is merely opinionated ideas. People are mainly discussing the morality of the death penalty, calling it barbaric or justice for the victims and their families. Race and demographics are discussed a lot in this day and age as mentioned before. There are questions that need to be answered. Such as why is the death penalty more effective than life in prison without parole? Why are statistics showing that more African Americans have been charged and put to death throughout history? Do the pros outweigh the cons when having to decide whether or not a person gets to live?

These questions come from ACLU and discuss what the public is most curious about when talking about capital punishment. The questions and answers are definitely not one sided. Take a look at these and digest what is being said about the death penalty in The United States…

Dylan Roof is under consideration for the death penalty. In 2015, Dylan walked into a prominently African American church and unloaded his gun into the innocent churchgoers. Although his hate crime is one of the most disgusting acts a person can commit, there are still people out there that believe he should not receive the death penalty. It is very clear that he is not innocent, as there is an outrageous amount of proof that he did kill these people. Hell, Google has enough proof to show he was a crazed hater. He had evil intentions.

 “So why shouldn’t the punishment reserved for the most heinous crime be applied to him?”

Aastha Uprety