Although we all want to be the hero in our society, we sometimes forget that there are villains too. In the article, “The Death Penalty Deters Crime,” the reading says that in over 3,000 countries, one criminal execution would result in eighteen fewer murders (Muhlhausen). Several citizens living their everyday lives are being saved when the death penalty is in use; five criminal executions would result in ninety less deaths. Capital punishment has fought against crime all over the world since the 1970’s. This demonstrates that the death penalty has been deterring crime ever since Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford were inaugurated; two people that don’t come to mind when you want society to improve.

Our town is more known for wealth, not murder. However, citizens of Westport still have a strong take about the death penalty. In school, I gave a survey to our peers; in which they stated that, “horrible criminals will be put to death for their atrocious crimes, which will signal to other criminals to not do anything bad” (Saed). Our peers who aren’t effected by capital punishment still have an opinion about it and many of those perspectives believe in the fact that the death penalty repels crime.

In the 1970’s, violent crimes were much more common. People like John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy committed acts of violence which resulted in killing numerous people. Gacy killed 33 teenage boys and Bundy killed 36 young women. It didn’t help that capital punishment was put to a halt because it violated the constitution. In the article, “Death Penalty and Crime Deterrence,” the text states that there were 20,600 murders in 1974 which was a record high (Kronenwetter). Murder rates rose dramatically when capital punishment was suspended, implying that when the death penalty was being used actively, it was combatting crime. Those who don't worry about consequences act without thinking which in this case, results in higher crime rates. If the government always kept the death penalty up and running, this spike in murder would have never happened.

There are many misconceptions that the death penalty doesn’t deter crime; however, it does. People may believe this because if a criminal gets killed from the death penalty, it won’t directly effect another criminal. On ProCon.org, they say that criminologists don’t believe that capital punishment deters crime (ProCon.org). ProCon.org articulates an interesting idea that may be convincing to the audience since criminologists stand with a degree, something our eighth grade doesn't have. The termination of the death penalty could result in more dangerous criminal activity. If criminals don’t have any consequential boundaries, there is no limit to what they can do. Isaac Ehrlich is an American economist and researcher in the economics of crime and law enforcement. In “The Death Penalty Deters Crime,” the reading says that Ehrlich had done a study at Buffalo University which showed that capital punishment does have a deterrerent effect (Muhlhausen). As Ehrlich suggests, capital punishment does fight against crime.

Alex Iskandar, a peer in our eighth grade class also believes that capital punishment deters crime. In an interview, he said, “criminals don’t have any consequences when the death penalty was suspended. They don’t die if they kill someone” (Iskandar). What does our society want? Alex thinks that the death penalty must stay instated because it deters crime and keeps society safe.

When you see someone in town who may be a “suspect to crime,” don’t give them a death stare. Pun intended. Let the government do their job because they instituted the death penalty. The death penalty has been fighting crime for awhile now which is why society must keep it for as long as possible.