Is capital punishment justified? Many people say yes, and many people disagree. Throughout time, people in this world have been trained to think a certain way; for example, over fifty percent of all people think that if a person commits a heinous crime that results in another human being losing theirs, then they deserve to die. That may be true, but due to the judicial system there are necessary steps and procedures to take in order for someone's crime to be considered heinous enough for the death penalty. Two educated writers Robert Lee and Eric Freedman dispute their reasons why they do believe and do not believe that capital punishment is not justified.
Robert Lee believes that "capital punishment is justified because it is the only fair way for society to respond to certain heinous crimes." This method of exonerating an individual started as far back as the eighteenth-century, which is currently a political and economical problem today. Lee believes that if an individual committed a crime then it is our constitutional right to rid that person of his or her life so that millions of other innocent people will be protected. Being aware of this, Lee also states that this will help lower crime rate in that particular area. Several cases have been explained to provide proof that crime has decreased in certain states. Other cases are used to show that the deaths of executed people had no factor in the increase or decrease of crime in that state. .
In Lee's response to the question, "is capital punishment justified?", he states "Yes" due to the fact that inmates have the possibility to harm innocent people inside or outside of prison. Even though executions are costly, it is still an effective way for states to decrease their crime rate and protect the innocent from suffering any type of selfish and heinous acts.
Eric Freedman focuses on the opposite side of the spectrum, complying "the death penalty does not reduce crime" and "the death penalty is extraordinarily expensive.