Capital Punishment in America (Positive Health Guide)

In the 1970s and the 1980s, polls in the United States showed approval of the death penalty growing consistently, with nearly 80 percent of the public favoring capital punishment for murderers in 1988. Yet during the last decade, when approximately 300 persons were sentenced to the death penalty each year, an average of only ten were executed each year. And those deaths that did occur were normally delayed for eight years after sentencing. What explains these significant refusals to implement policies of capital punishment?Raymond Paternoster demonstrates conclusively that despite the public's desire to punish criminals, to protect ourselves, to spend tax dollars effectively, and to compensate victims' families, we are reluctant to actually take the lives of prisoners, and, in fact, that most Americans would choose to abolish capital punishment if they knew of an effective alternative. That alternative, Paternoster asserts, is to replace the death penalty with sentences of life without parole, along with mandatory financial restitution to the victim's survivors. This policy would ensure that convicted murderers receive harsh punishment, and with parole forbidden in all cases, the public would be protected from any future crimes such criminals could commit. Paternoster shows that life sentences may actually be less expensive than execution and a more effective deterrent than the infrequently imposed death penalty. In addition, life sentences could require prisoners to pay a portion of their prison wages to their victims' survivors. Most importantly, such a policy would ensure that the government does not execute innocent people.Paternoster's well-documented book argues cogently against capital punishment as an appropriate and effective response to murderers and offers a sound alternative that addresses the public's demand for justice, safety, and restitution.