Some argue that the death penalty is the “easy way out” for those who commit the most serious of crimes, and think that a life sentence is better. But let’s think of it this way. With the life sentence, YOUR TAX DOLLARS are being put to use to feed, bathe, and care for those murderers/rapists/criminals, and they will be for as long as that person is alive. Basically, you’re paying so that a person who has done terrible things in their lifetime can stay alive. Sure, the prisoners can - and in most cases, DO - work for some of their keep at the jail, but that’s not cutting it a majority of the time. Lower janitorial costs, maybe - but what about food, clothing, security for those high-security cells that are home to the criminals? That’s still your tax money. And with life sentences, obviously the person will be in jail for the remainder of his/her life - which means that there will come a time when the person is unfit to work. Whether this be the product of old age, sickness, disability, or something else is for nature to decide, but it’s inevitable that the person will, at some point or another, not be able to work.

Jails are overcrowded enough as it is. If more people keep getting life sentences, what’s going to happen to the jails? It’s going to get absolutely ridiculous, that’s what’s going to happen. “If the earth gets overcrowded, are we just going to kill a bunch of people?” you say. With the death penalty, it’s not just “oh he is going to get the chair, we’re going to lethally inject him”. It takes a long while in court to come to the verdict. “Killing a load of people” is pretty much a totalitarianistic thing - just kill whoever. It’s not like the judicial process to do that. When deciding the final verdict, it’s not just one person - it’s the judge, prosecutors, witnesses, juries, peers, victims, and the media that influence the final decision. How would we go about doing that with the entire earth? It’s kind of reminiscent of the government in the novel “V for Vendetta” - just kill whoever the government likes. But that’s not the society we have in the United States. I’d make some crack about Soylent Green here, but this is a serious topic.

Scenario time: If somebody murdered a relative of yours, would you feel more comfortable A: knowing that the murderer is still alive, with a chance - however slight - to get out of jail and murder more, or B: knowing that this murderer is dead, and will never again hurt a soul?

Certain people - murderers, serial rapists - should get the death penalty. Why would you want to pay to keep them alive?