Capital punishment is the government's way of legally killing criminals. In our society there are strict laws against killing people, so why is the government allowed to get away with it and call it legal? “As an American, I wanted to explore...why are we the only first country in the world that still has capital punishment? Is it because we are too afraid to really examine the system, or is it because we sincerely believe that it is the best way to deter future crimes? asks Jodi Picoult, a renowned American author. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a punishment imposed on criminals of the most heinous crimes. As a person, it is easy to quickly judge and condemn someone for their wrongdoing, but the laws that govern this country prohibit murder, and yet the leaders of this country break these laws every time they condemn someone to death. Eighteen states have already abolished the death penalty; it's time for others to follow suit and lock the convict in a maximum security prison for the rest of his life. Since 1976, when the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty, 1,231 prisoners have been executed, with each death costing at least $3.5 million. That's $4.31 billion that could have been spent improving the poor cities where most criminals come from. The cost of capital punishment is so high because of the lengthy process required for pre-trials and actual trials, one to judge the innocence of the accused and the other for their punishment, both typically having twice as many defense attorneys. and the equivalent of prosecutors, and the fact that capital cases typically last 3 to 5 times longer than a typical murder case according to Richard C. Dieter, the...... middle of paper... " The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, November 8, 2013. Web, December 9, 2013. • Marceau, Justin and Megan Healy. “The Costs of the Death Penalty in Colorado.” The Huffington Post.com, November 20, 2013. Web . December 9, 2013. Motluk, Alison. “Execution by injection far from painless” Execution by injection far from painless, April 14, 2005. Web, December 10, 2013. • Picoult, Jodi. Thoughtjoy, nd Web. December 12, 2013. • Reggio, Michael H. “History of the Death Penalty.” PBS. PBS, nd Web. December 10, 2013. • Rogers, Simon. “US Death Penalty Statistics: Which State Executes the Most People?” » Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, September 21, 2011. Web. December 10, 2013.• “States with and without the death penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, nd Web. December 12. 2013.