It can be said that abolishing the death penalty is actually what would devalue the human life because it would be disrespectful to the victims of murder. Because killing murderers will prevent them from killing anyone else, this is the best way to show value for human life. There are also reports that show that capital punishment does in fact deter crime. Between the years of 1965 and 1980, capital punishment was not very common and there were a great deal of murders. However, between the years of 1995 to 2000, executions rose, and murder rates dropped significantly. (Lowe) Those who believe the death penalty should be enforced also have an answer to the question of high costs of capital punishment. Cutting back on the appeals granted to those on death row would significantly cut the costs of the process. Without appeals and lengthy death row stays, it could easily be cheaper to execute criminals. Some would argue that the appeals process is the only thing that can possibly reduce the number of innocent people punished for crimes by accident, however death penalty advocates will explain that the likelihood of someone being wrongfully put onto death row is very slim. It is also an argument that more people will be saved by removing killers from society permanently than those that will accidentally be punished on death row, and therefore the overall greater good of society must be considered.

Other issues must be considered also when discussing the death penalty. These include the question of whether or not it is possible to rehabilitate criminals in the prison system. If rehabilitation is not possible in the current debate attempt to show that their preferred method will improve society. Arguments against the death penalty include that it devalues human life, does not deter further crime, is very expensive, and that innocent people may be executed. Arguments for the death penalty include that it does put value on the human life, it does deter crime, that it would be easy to make the death penalty less costly than imprisonment, and that very few people are accidentally put to death by the justice system. The individual must review each source that provides statistics and data to ensure that the source appears credible when deciding which opinion to hold.
Bibliography

Colson, Charles. "Capital Punishment: A Personal Statement." Prison Fellowship. 2004. http://www.pfm.org/Content/ContentGroups/Prison_Fellowship/Publications/Capital_Punishment/Capital_Punishment__A_Personal_Statement.htm

Liebson, Richard. "Law Day Panel Tackles Hot-button Issues." The Journal News. 4 May 2003. http://www.nyjournalnews.com/newsroom/050403/b06w04lawday.html

Lowe, Wesley. "Pro Death Penalty Webpage." 2004. http://www.wesleylowe.com/cp.html

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. 2005. http://www.ncadp.org/

SPR. "The Basics on Rape Behind Bars." Stop Prisoner Rape. 2004. http://www.spr.org/en/doc_01_factsheet.html