A criminal is on the run from the cops. All he has is a few bucks, half a pack of cigarettes and a gun. He sees a car in the distance. He runs to it and points the gun at the person in the car. Yelling at them, he tells them to get out of the car. The driver refuses. The criminal is desperate. Bang. Dead. The driver is dead and the criminal drives away, only later to get caught. He is sent to prison and then death row, only to wait 20 years to be executed. And who is paying for his stay there? You.

The death penalty is a common punishment for those who commit horrendous crimes. But the question is, are we not using it enough?

Every year in America, taxpayers spend $32 billion on prisons. That’s right. $32 billion.  None of you will ever see that much money in your life. And where is it going? To prisons, to help murders, rapists and thieves stay alive and healthy. We pay for their food, medical bills and housing.

Each inmate costs around $22,000 a year.  The average American salary is around $51,000, according to USA Today. So its costs half of the average American salary to pay for an inmate.

Many of these inmates are in for small crimes, such as stealing, public intoxication or even forgery. They are put into prison for a short amount of time, where they go through treatment and rehab, preparing to get back in the real world.

But what about those who have committed terrible crimes and are just waiting on death row? Why even wait?

I do not want to sound like a cold-hearted cynic, but  looking at it from a business point of view,

it good to give second chances? Yes, but when it comes to murder, there should never be a second chance.

The very idea of murder is sickening. Then why would we put so much money into keeping these murderers alive when they have already made their decisions?

The different views I’ve received on the subject of the death penalty were all across the board. Many of them believed it was inhumane and wrong. My argument to them was the fact that the criminal had killed someone.

The other argument they gave me was that they believed that executing the prisoners was more expensive. That is absolutely, and incredibly wrong. As I said earlier, the cost spent on prisons each year is around $32 billion. The amount spent on executions every year is only around $1 billion. That is a heck of a lot cheaper if you ask me.

I don’t want to go around putting down every single criminal out there because there are many of them who have changed their ways and have gone through rehab and treatment. I just don’t understand why certain criminals are kept alive for so long. Some can spend years waiting in death row, just waiting for the day to be executed.

These men already decided their fates. Their decisions have destroyed other people’s lives and crumbled their families. Why do they deserve to have us pay for them to live? That’s our money and I don’t really feel like paying for murders, serial killers and rapists to stay alive when we should help those who are actually in need like the poor, old and sick.

In a life or death situation, criminals chose death when they commit murder on innocent individuals, so shouldn’t we?