Capital Punishment Targets the PoorIn some states, inmates can be executed for crimes they committed when they were 16; in others, only those who committed murder aged 18 or older are subject to the death penalty. This essay will demonstrate that such inconsistencies and many other factors cause a situation in which the poor are systematically targeted with the death penalty. Some, but not all, states prohibit the execution of people with mental retardation. Some states include felony murder (unpremeditated killing committed during the course of another crime such as theft or burglary) as a capital crime; others don’t. Of the 29 states that provide a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, 23 have laws that prohibit judges from telling juries that they have this sentencing option. Since studies consistently show that when given the choice between the death penalty and life in prison without the possibility of parole, most people choose the latter, not informing the jury of this alternative amounts to sending more people to the execution chamber. discredited the claim that execution deters murder. The majority of murders are committed in the heat of passion and/or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, with little thought given to the possible consequences of the act. “Hitmen” and other murderers who plan their crimes in advance intend and hope to avoid punishment by not being arrested. Law enforcement officials know that the death penalty is not a deterrent. Imposing the death penalty more often was considered cost-effective by only 29 percent of 386 randomly selected U.S. police chiefs surveyed by Peter D. Hart Research Associates in 1995. States with the death penalty... . middle of paper . .....ily as an alternative to the death penalty (Death). In 45 states, laws allow life sentences for murder, which significantly limits or eliminates the possibility of parole. Thirteen states impose sentences without the possibility of parole for 25 to 40 years, and all but three of the states that use capital punishment also have the option of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Although it is often assumed that capital punishment is less costly than life imprisonment, the opposite is true: in terms of money, in terms of crime control, and in terms of morality. Is there any other way than opposing capital punishment? No. WORKS CITED: Death Penalty Information Center http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/Stanford Law Review http://support.lexis-nexis.com/online/record.asp?ArticleID=LXE_Law_Rev_S