On last year’s Patriot’s Day, a holiday celebrated every April 15 in the state of Massachusetts, two men, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, detonated two bombs that killed three people and wounded dozens more who were watching the annual Boston Marathon.
Now it has recently been reported that Dzhokhar, the only surviving brother out of the two, is facing the possibility of the death penalty should he be convicted of his crimes.
The issue of the death penalty is a dividing issue all across America, with people arguing whether or not people should face death for the crimes that they commit, if they commit them at all. Sometimes, people are wrongly convicted, which helps the side of those that oppose the death penalty.
To me, I think that there should not be a death penalty should the person facing the charges be soundly convicted with solid evidence proving that they are absolutely guilty, with no possibility of them being innocent.
While there are people who might say that the death penalty is harsh, I think it’s too light; should Tsarnaev be convicted of his crimes, I believe that the death penalty would be the easy way out for him since he wouldn’t have to suffer beyond a very short time.
A common misconception is that it is more expensive to keep an inmate in prison than to kill them; according to the Death Penalty Information Center, in the state of California alone it has cost almost $4 billion dollars to keep the death penalty around since 1978. According to the website, it cost $1.94 billion in pre-trial and trial costs, $925 million in automatic appeals and state habeas corpus petitions, $775 million in federal habeas corpus appeals, and $1 billion in costs of incarceration. Also, inmates on death row can constantly appeal their sentence, which just adds on more costs in lawyers, court dates, etc.
On the other hand, it costs significantly less to house an inmate; in the state of Massachusetts it costs about $45,502.19 to house an inmate per year according to Mass.gov.
Now, although Massachusetts has outlawed the death penalty Tsarnaev can still face the death penalty since he faces federal charges.
In my opinion, giving Tsarnaev the death penalty is the easy way out. While I’m sure many people would like to see him die, it’s only going to be a short time until he finally passes from the sodium pentothal, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride.
Instead, let him rot away for the rest of his life in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison, and let him suffer for the rest of his miserable life. Do not let death be his only reprieve.
