I recently had to write a paper on this topic for my Psych of Criminal Behavior class and it really intrigued me. The death penalty is such a controversial topic; some people don't believe in it while others think it's an acceptable punishment. There is a lot to take into consideration when it comes to sentencing someone to death, such as the severity of the crime.
Recently, I have been binge watching "Criminal Minds" and most of the cases implicate some kind of serial murderer. The crime scenes often show violent, heinous crimes that often involve a form of torture, rape or mutilation. More often than not, they either die in a cop shootout or end up in prison. I believe they should be put to death.
Here's why…
People who kill multiple people do not deserve to be alive; therefore, they should be killed. Serial killers usually enjoy killing, feel the need to keep killing, or can't stop killing for some other reason. Since they have taken more than one life without really caring about the people they have murdered or the families they have destroyed, they shouldn't be afforded the opportunity to live. Being alive is a privilege that serial murderers do not deserve, even in the confines of jail. Plus, prisons provide food, recreational time, healthcare, and a place to sleep. All of which is more than the people they have killed have.
Giving serial murderers the death penalty keeps them out of the prison system. Overall, it may not cost less because of the required judicial reviews, but why should taxpayers be paying for these people to stay alive? Instead, they can pay for them to die. Rather than using expensive execution techniques, serial murderers can be forced to suffer through the cheap version.
Even though prison is for rehabilitation and some serial murderers have psychological issues, I don't believe that they should be sent to a mental institution or be given the time, or resources, to try to change from their past actions. Whether or not they have a mental illness doesn't change the fact that they killed someone. It might change the circumstances of the murders but not the murder itself.
In terms of whether or not the death penalty is enacted, I think that the family of the victims should have a say in what happens to the murderer. If they want the murderer to be sentenced to death, then death should be given. If they want them to rot in prison, so be it. Even if they want the murderer to be tortured for their crimes, it should happen.
Even though the death penalty is one option, I do see the other side as well. The death penalty represents the code of 'an eye for an eye' and that is not always a reasonable code to follow; thus, the death penalty is unreasonable.
Since serial murderers committed such atrocious crimes, they deserve worse than death; they deserve to suffer. Death can be seen as the easy way out and suffering can prevent them from achieving bliss and ending their pain. Saying this, I don't think that being put in a normal prison is enough. Not to mention, prison hierarchies that allow certain prisoners to gain a higher status and get what they want. If these murderers are going to suffer, they need to be put in conditions that are going to provide an adequate amount of suffering. That may include infinite solitude or even torture. Given the 8thAmendment, worse circumstances might not be constitutional.
Innocent people are wrongly convicted for crimes that they haven't committed which means they end up dead for no reason. Therefore, if they had been in prison rather than sentenced to death, they would still be alive. To correct this, I feel like there has to be DNA evidence linking a murderer to the crimes they are accused of because there have been more and more DNA findings that prove convicted prisoners are in fact, innocent.
All in all, the death penalty is a tricky subject that requires a lot of attention. I can definitely understand why people are against the death penalty because there are many factors that play a part but when it comes to serial murderers, putting them to death seems like a reasonable option.
