“If we fail to execute murderers, and that would actually have deterred further murder, we have allowed the murder of a group of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. For me, it's not a difficult decision. » (McAdams) The death penalty should be legalized in all fifty states, to prevent crime, keep repeat offenders off the streets, and reduce the cost to taxpayers of detaining those convicted. The death penalty can actually deter would-be criminals from committing heinous crimes when they are legal in a state. Social scientists have stated that the act of general deterrence, that is, when punishment deters would-be criminals from committing crimes, However, there is more evidence that premeditated crimes are usually the ones that are stopped by general deterrence, and not crimes of passion. Heinous crimes have been significantly reduced in states with capital punishment laws. keeps repeat offenders off the streets. In Michigan, a case that illustrates this occurred: "A man who was hired by Honeywell Inc., after serving four years in prison for strangling a co-worker, was charged with the murder of another co-worker and a woman he allegedly stalked and threatened for weeks” (Sullum’s personal file). If the death penalty had been allowed in Michigan, this woman's life could have been spared, because the man who murdered her would have been executed long before then and would never have had the opportunity to murder her. The death penalty may be a long process, but it does not give death row inmates any hope of parole. Placing heinous criminals in death row prisons prevents them from repeating their crimes. In five out of seven cases, it is said that the criminals will...... middle of paper ......al Punishment Justice Death Penalty Essays -- The Use of Capital Punishment in America. " Helping Students Become Better Writers | Free Literature Guides, Essays, Dissertations, Research Papers, and Book Reports. Web January 13, 2010. "The Death Penalty Essays.com - Over 100,000 Essays, Dissertations, and Book Reports . ! Web. January 14, 2010. “Does capital punishment deter crime? Essays and articles on eNotes." eNotes - Literature study guides, lesson plans and more. Web. January 13, 2010. "Capital Punishment Pro Page." Wesley Lowe - The Necromancer Wars. 1996-2009. Web . January 13, 2010. .Pro-death penalty.com 2010. Web January 13... 2010.