Dieter, Richard C. "Sentencing for Life: Americans Embrace Alternatives to the Death Penalty." Death Penalty Information Center. N.p., 2010. Web. 12 April 2010.
Because this article was rather lengthy, I focused more on the parts that had to do with my topic and put more thought into those while reading. When I looked at the alternatives to the death penalty section, rehabilitation was one of the options mentioned. "Governments, of course, cannot fund every program that presents itself...If the death penalty were eliminated, there would be an immediate savings of millions of dollars for counties and states which could be transferred to other programs with proven records for reducing crime" (Dieter). While it is true that these programs cost a fair amount of money, they don't really hold a candle to the death penalty. With all the trials and everything that gets put into the process of sentencing a criminal to life and actually killing them, some might argue that the death penalty is like paying to have a criminal killed. State-sanctioned, premeditated killing is not the right thing to do. The list of reasons why rehabilitation is a better alternative, from my research, is as follows: it's a better crime deterrent, it is more cost effective, it has a lasting effect, it doesn't involve taking of another human life, it's not hypocritical, the victims in the case would be minimized, and it gives America a better image.
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