Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Death Penalty - Essay Example The current statistics show that within the United States we have a high rate of recidivism from offenders. The financial costs of a death penalty conviction are high, but not in comparison to the cost of a crime plus the life sentence. The use of the death penalty, when handed down after conviction of a crime from which the offender cannot be liberated or from which the forgiveness of society is not conceivable, provides a service of justice to the citizens in providing a resolve for the crime committed, an example to promote the deterrence of crime, and a relief in costs that are incurred during a lifelong prison term. Crime is a social situation that exists in all nations, all communities, and in all social groups. Where there are laws, there are those who will attempt to bend, manipulate, and break them. An urban myth exists that the United States has one of the worst crime rates in the world. However, according to Winslow and Zhang (2008), the United States ranks twelfth out of a grouping of 165 countries, with England, Denmark, Australia, and Sweden all ranking with higher rates of crime. According to their research, Sweden, which has the highest crime rate, records approximately 9,604 crimes per each 100,000 of population figures, while the United According to Amnesty International statistics for 2008, there are 59 countries that still utilize the death penalty as a punitive measure. However, in the European and Central Asian countries, only the country of Belarus still uses this measure. As well, of the countries who have this judicial tool available, only 25 of the 59 countries actually used the death penalty. The United states showed the lowest number of executions in 2008 than had been carried out since 1995. Of the countries that use the death penalty as a punitive measure, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United states