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The death penalty capital punishment vs. life in prison is the legal infliction of the persons convicted of a severe crime. Today, in modern law, the death penalty is corporal punishment in its most severe form along with life in prison. Death penalty is irreversible: it ends the existence of those punished, instead of temporarily imprisoning them. The differences between the death penalty and life in prison are distinct but have different consequences.
The first type of penalty is the death penalty. It’s classified to be the most severe punishment for criminals that have committed the most severe crimes such as murder or rape. Statistics like these show that some criminals are not effected by the penalties we give them. In 1993, criminals on parole committed 84,800 crimes, this included 13,200 murders, 12,900 rapes and 49,500 robberies.(www.prodeathpenalty.com) The death penalty has the potential to be a very effective deterrent. The average inmate spends 9 years on death row costing the state substantial amounts of money.
Life in prison is a second type of severe punishment; for criminals that commit severe crimes but maybe not as serious as murder. Life in prison is imprisonment without parole, the convicted is never released even with good behavior. Criminals are sent to a state or federal prison where they stay locked up but can work in the prison for money and get an education. On average it costs three million dollars for a life without parole inmate. This cost is from the $60,000 a year for the cell for 6 years and 1.5 million dollars for the trial.(www.prodeathpenalty.com) I think from the statistics shown, the death penalty might be a more effective deterrent. [337 words]...