When reading about a case like Henry Brisbon, the demented being who was convicted of savagely murdering four people, rape, and badly injuring an inmate (not to mention serious assaults and stabbings of guards and a violent take over attempt while in prison), we feel disgust and horror (Turow 45). No amount of trauma in Brisbon's childhood could provoke sympathy. The total, the way that he killed- there is no excuse. Henry Brisbon has given nothing to society, and society should give him nothing in return.
But would sending Brisbon to the electric chair resolve anything? Sure, everyone would feel better now that there is one less maniac on the loose. Unfortunately, it would not bring back the blameless people that he killed, nor would it stop the next crazed slaughter from homicide. Capitol punishment only adds to the glamour that television shows and movies like to spin on killing. The moral principle behind the death penalty is not to be trusted. There are also extreme differences in the criminal acts of those who've been sent to the electric chair, including people wrongly convicted. So, does the death penalty resolve anything? No. Because the death penalty does not deter criminals from committing homicide and because innocent people have been convicted, the death penalty should not be part of the judicial system just to give citizens a false sense of security.
There have been many studies conducted that have shown the death penalty has no effect on the murder rate. They all come to the same conclusion; the deterrent dynamic does not exist. The fact that a murderer isn't put off by the chance that she could be put to death should not come as a surprise. A serial killer does not respect life, including her own. The mind of a killer is not the same as most people's, and can not be approached with the same logic. .
The existence of the death sentence alone expresses that in some cases it is OK to take life, that there are times when someone has done something so wrong that the only way to fix it is capital punishment.
