Florida Death Penalty
How deadly can a game of Russian roulette become? John A. Spenkelink figured out the hard way. In 1979, he was executed by electric chair for murdering Joseph Syzmankiewicz in
1973. In a hotel in Tallahassee John and Joseph played a game of Russian roulette and went to sleep. Joseph never woke up as for John shot him twice in the head John argued that it was selfdefense, that Joseph had sexually assaulted him and forced him into a game of “Russian roulette”. For many centuries, countless have killed or omitted heinous crimes. So why was John specifically given capital punishment? To understand further let us look into the history, the effectiveness and solutions for the death penalty.
The death penalty were first recorded as early as 480 B.C. in Britain by being dropped into a quagmire. Capital punishment was discontinued in Great Britain in 1965. However, when the British settlers came into the America’s, they brought back the death penalty with them.
Which was then first recorded in 1608 with the colonies of the new world. As America progressed so did the individual laws from state to state. Michigan being the first state in 1847 to abolish the death penalty set a trend for centuries later. Further down the timeline in the 60’s the support for the capital punishment was at an all-time low. Leading to the case of Furman v.
Georgia, The Supreme Court took a vote that was 5 to 4 to effectively void and suspend the death penalty. Only to be reinstated in 1976 by the Supreme Court. The different methods of execution we use ranges from quagmire, the electric chair, hanging, gas chambers, the popular

lethal injection. To attain capital punishment the offenses include espionage, treason, various forms of murder, destruction of vehicle facility resulting in death, treason etc.
Capital punishment has a vast history and has been in our law system for quite some time. Has the law truly been effective? From day to day, we still see the existence of crime. The crime rate specifically for FL has not gone down. As of 2017 crimes committed were 88,916 higher than its previous years of 2016 (86,564) and 2015 (88,501). There are even instances where innocent people are put to death after wrongful conviction. Such as in the case of Troy
Davis who was executed, but kept his innocence up until his execution. To implement and impose the death penalty in Florida fifty-one million. The drugs for lethal injections and other expenses are costly. To execute a death row prisoner in the state of Florida as of 2010 is twentyfour million. To maintain such a bill, all these fees and expenses come from our loving Florida taxpayers’ pockets. Can we effectively say the death penalty works for society? Comparing the pros and cons, we can say no. What can we do if Capital punishment has no effect?
Eighty-eight percent of criminologists agree that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent. Its main existence is to aid in deterring the act of heinous crime. The problem of crime still arises, if not capital punishment what can we do? A proper solution would be life in prison without parole. Miami Herald stated that in 2010 Florida spent $3.2 million per execution from
1973 to 1988. That is fifty-seven million dollars to achieve eighteen executions. To keep a prisoner for life costs roughly $31,286 annually. Another solution is isolation, as technology moved forward we have built isolation tanks. The normal use is to aid in the sensory functions

such as exploring conscious. Removing someone from the streets and throwing them in an isolation tank would be a better move. Lastly, is the solution of counseling for the youth and future generations. We the current society can only provide temporary solutions; our only permanent challenge is to guide the next generation. Set programs to teach youth on principles and way of life to aid in deterring possible future crimes. We cannot do anything about the future but the children who will be here after us can.
In conclusion, the death penalty has a vast and wide history. The first ever recording of death by trial is in 1608. We adopted the penalty from Great Britain and continued effective trial, sentence, and executions over the centuries.in the United States. The main existence for the death penalty is to deter crime and effectively to put a stop. Clearly, we still see crime as a normal part of ongoing life. The effectiveness of the law is shallow in the hearts of man. The penalty has even convicted and wrongfully executed those of innocence. The cons outweigh most of the pros that one can vouch for. There are solutions to help society further such as life in prison without parole or counseling and programs for the youth. The death penalty in whole is an opinionated topic and an irreversible action. Florida continues to lethally inject those 144 on death row.