Legislators in the state of Maryland are voting on a bill to remove the death sentence as a possible punishment for convicted murderers, leaving many to question the validity of capital punishment.
Most people do not think about what a person would have to do to be on death row in the first place.
In the state of Maryland, only those who committed premeditated murder or killed someone while committing a felony can receive the death sentence.
The majority of states have laws similar to that of Maryland, although a few specify other death penalty worthy crimes such as: perjury (lying under oath) that results in the death of an innocent person, treason, rape, and cop killing, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Murdering two or more people causes more damage than a single person can hope to make up in a lifetime of prison.
Giving a murderer a life sentence allows them to possibly live a full, improved life. Prison is definitely horrible and is meant to punish criminals, but there is no justice in a person being allowed to live when they have deliberately denied several others that same right.
This being said,  death is a very serious punishment, and laws governing it should be meticulously reviewed by legislatures. However, its seems that many states besides Maryland have decided to get rid of the sentence altogether.
If the Maryland senate passes this bill, Maryland will be the 18th state to remove the death penalty in the United States.
Many believe the death sentence is not constitutional or even morally acceptable. The Bill of Rights forbids “cruel and unusual punishment,” and the killing of another individual is rarely deemed acceptable in most cultures.
Those against the death sentence argue that killing a person for killing a person does not make sense and that a life sentence should be enough punishment.  They say that death is too quick an escape for some criminals.
The best justification for removing the death penalty is that there are flaws in the justice system.
Occasionally, innocent men are found guilty.
The Death Penalty Information Center published an article that stated that 12 executed persons were granted “posthumous pardon”–they were pardoned/excused after their execution. However, the article did say that “not all of the pardons were granted because of doubts about the defendant’s guilt,” meaning that a few may have been guilty, but there was an error in the trial.
Again,  this only proves that laws governing capital punishment must be ruled error-free, a human impossibility.
While painful to state, it is more difficult to justify a death sentence for one murder. A life sentence without parole for one murder in the first degree is marginally sufficient.
But the death penalty is necessary for some crimes. There should be a death penalty, but there needs to be strict laws governing it.
Capital punishment should only be used for people who will not be rehabilitated (made better) by going to jail; this could include those who have already committed several serious crimes and are deemed likely to do it again, specifically serial killers and serial rapists.
Capital punishment may seem to put a value on a life, but sometimes jail is not a sufficient punishment.

Source:
-Deathpenaltyinfo.org