Death Penalty: The Answers

Questions and Answers:

1. Why do we spend an excessive amount on this system?
• It seems that the only reason we spend the amount is for the death of whoever we are dealing with. As I researched I found that in California alone taxpayers are paying almost 140 million dollars a year for death row. It has also been show and proven many times that it is less expensive to put someone to in jail for Life without Parole. The real reason for the costs are the legal procedures that have to be taken, which are required by the Constitution. Though why would the constitution have so many rules and procedures for death penalty (many because its wrong?). From a study in Los Angeles, it was found that of the last 11 executions in the past 27 years they spent over $250 million on each person. I think the spending is 'justified' by the 'results' but even then when we start comparing the amount of money spent to the actual results we are still left with the need for the reason of this excessive spending.
• Source: https://death.rdsecure.org/article.php?id=42
2. Has there been any Supreme Court cases that have tried to abolish the death penalty?
• Yes there have been many court cases dealing with the death penalty. Considered one of the most important cases, Furman v. Georgia, changed the view of the death penalty, within courts. This case declared that the death penalty went against the Eight and Fourteenth amendments, because it was seen as a form of cruel and unusual punishment.
• Source: http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001769
3. Can it be considered cruel and unusual punishment, and what is cruel and unusual punishment in the first place?
• As seen in my previous question, the death penalty is in some cases considered cruel and unusual punishment. As for Americans we can only wonder, but there are polls on whether Americans agree or disagree with the death penalty. In a poll taken in 2011, adult Americans for the most part agree with the death penalty, with around 60% saying they think it is justified. While 28% opposed it an the other 12% were undecided. This question seems to be more opinionated, but i was able to get some facts at least. I Do wonder what Children think of the death penalty?
• Sources:http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=001769
  http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/Rasmussen_Reports_DP_Poll.pdf

I left this topic with still many questions like: Can you justify the killing of a murderer?, How many countries do not use capital punishment?, what are the main reasons for the penalty of death?, and Is it one person that decides?. It almost seems like the decision of putting someone to death is like playing "god(s)".