Pututau 1

Taniela B. Pututau

Laurie Oberg

Language Arts 11

15 November 2015

Life in Prison: The Better Option

Capital punishment is the legally authorized killing of someone as a sentence for a crime.

It has however, become less likely to occur today. Arguments against the penalty question the

moral of the punishment. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is not the case for

everyone. Some are given a life sentence in prison with no option of parole, while others face the

penalty face to face. Life in prison with no parole is the better option than capital punishment. It

saves money that can be used to benefit more appropriate causes. It provides comforting

justice to survivors of murder victims. It also allows more practical resources to be invested into

solving other murder cases. However, many others decline the option of life in prison with no

parole due to the psychological disadvantages of prisoners losing their identity of humanity.

The finances involved in capital punishment are expensive and should be used for other

beneficial causes. Citizens are paying millions of tax dollars yearly in exchange for death of

someone who may or may not be guilty (Drehle). In California, the average cost of maintaining

the system of capital punishment is $117 million dollars. If you take the penalty away you save

that money (Kerr). Each death penalty trial costs on average three times more than a trial

pursuing death in prison (Kerr). Take the penalty away forever; there will be extra money for
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other needs such as education or military causes. The option of life in prison eliminates capital

punishment costs and allows states to use the money for other reasonable uses.

A sentence to life in prison with no parole is justice for any victim of a murder. Knowing

that a danger to society is locked up in a secure environment brings a true sense of comfort to

families and friends of victims. Had I done that (Sentenced murderer to life in prison with no

parole)...she would have spared the pain of 30 appeals and writs and retrial. She could have dealt

then and there with the fact that her daughter's killer would be shut away, never again to see a

day of freedom, and gone on to put her life together(McCartin). Sentencing life in prison allows

immediate justice and relives victims families and friends of pain. It essential that every victim

of murder receives justice and by locking up the criminal for life with no exceptions justice can

be served.

Life in prison without parole (LWOP) allows the criminals to be kept alive which could

benefit in solving other crime cases. allows more resources to be invested into solving other

murders and preventing violence (ACLU). Keeping the criminal alive will allow more

questioning and mapping relationships between crimes. It could also prevent crimes from

occurring in action (ACLU). The better option is to imprison the criminals for life, until they

confess connections between crimes.

Many support the option of LWOP, but some do not. Some would rather be punished than

live the rest of their lives in a cell. Research has confirmed that even brief periods in solitary

alter brain chemistry and produce psychiatric symptoms ranging from extreme depression to

active psychosis (Ridgeway). The amounts of attention needed to care for prisoners would
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increase. Their psychiatric mindset is completely degraded and lessens their understanding of

reality itself. This all results in self-mutilation.

Capital punishment is the legal killing of someone for a crime. It is unnecessary and

requires too much attention. LWOP will drastically save money. It will also allow instant justice

to those affect by the criminal. Also keeping them alive with LWOP will allow more questioning

that can be used to link and solve other crime cases.

Works Cited
"The Truth About Life Without Parole: Condemned to Die in Prison." American Civil Liberties
Union 13 Apr. 2015.
McCartin, Donald. "Second Thoughts of a 'Hanging Judge." Los Angeles Times [Los Angeles]
11 Mar. 2011 Print.
Kerr, Judy. "Fair Administration of Justice." Ccfaj.org. 28 Mar 2008. Web.
"What Death Penalty Opponents Don't Get." Ed. James Ridgeway. 30 Nov. 2014. Web.
<themarshallproject.org>.