First off, there are a few different outlooks when it comes to the death penalty and its use. First is that it is a punishment to those who have been convicted; that it is a revenge of sorts that provides closure to the families of victims and acts as a deterrent and warning to others. The other most prevalent is that it is used to get rid of people who have harmed others; to remove them from society completely and prevent them from harming anyone else ever again.
The first argument is the one that is most criticized as it is A.) a vengeful, spiteful method that mirrors the killers' actions and B.) shown to be ineffective as a deterrent. Many studies have shown that the threat of capital punishment does not contribute to a lower crime or homicide rate. In fact, the South, which accounts for 80% of executions, has consistently had the highest murder rate in the country.
The second argument is one that more people agree with as it seems a logical solution. Most would agree that someone like Charles Manson has nothing to contribute to the world except for harm and that getting rid of him would be of no loss. However, this argument is hard to defend as it has little to no data to confirm it. The only way to defend it is monetary data. Many have argued that killing a prisoner is cheaper than keeping him fed, clothed, bathed, and sheltered. However, Texas spends about $2.3 million dollars on a death penalty case, enough money to imprison someone at high security for 40 years.
Currently, 33 states still allow the death penalty, as does the U.S. Government and the military. 17 states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty. Michigan is the only state with a constitutional prohibition of capital punishment. Since 1976 there have been 1,294 executions in the U.S., 1,061 of which have been in the South. Since 1973, there have been 130 exonerations. Currently it is illegal to execute someone with "mental retardation" or for crimes committed as a juvenile.
Contrary to popular belief and media claims, the majority of executions have been white prisoners, 56% in fact. In addition, the black to white ratio of current death row inmates is about equal, with 43% white, 42% black, 12% latino, and 3% qualifying as "other." However, race of the victim seems to be a large factor. 76% of victims whose death lead to an execution order were white. There have been 254 executions where the victim was white and the killer was black, but only 18 where the killer was black and the victim white. Caveat: Justice department data shows that the rate of black on white murder is 18 times that of white on black murder, so this data may have less to do with racial prejudice than it may seem. Since 1976, there have been 12 women executed in the United States. Currently, there are 62 women on death row. This is less than 2% of the death row population. Caveat: Statistically only 12% of homicides are committed by women.
Currently, the primary mode of execution is Lethal Injection. In the past, hanging, firing squad, electrocution, and gas chamber have all been common methods. Hanging has since lost favor as it is fairly unreliable, as has electrocution as it can result in a failed execution. Firing squad has also waned in popularity as it can cause severe emotional damage to the executioner(s). Gas chamber lost popularity after the Second World War due to its use by the Nazis. Since 1976 there have been 1120 lethal injections, 157 electrocutions, 11 deaths by gas chamber, 3 hangings, and 3 deaths by firing squad. Most states allow only lethal injection, but some allow one or more alternate options by request or in the case where lethal injection is not possible/viable.
http://www.ourcivilisation.com/usa/racewar.htm
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/gender.cfm
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/FactSheet.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/opinion/09dow.html
