ENGL103-X-1301A-08: Composition: Writing and Research
Phase 2 IP
Jared Morgan January 21, 2013

Prisoners given the death penalty cost the state four times more than prisoners who serve life sentences. This question doesn’t say which state to analyze so I will choose California. Also, the question is rather tricky and one could be caught putting their own opinions into their answer rather than stating facts. The facts are that sentencing a prisoner to death rather than life does cost the state more. I have found through the research of Judge Arthur Alarcon and Prof. Paula Mitchell, who conducted this research in 2011 and updated it in 2012, the death penalty has cost California $4 billion since 1978. These costs were due to pre trials, trials, appeals, state habeas corpus petitions, federal habeas corpus appeals and costs of incarceration. If the governor commuted the rest of the sentences to life without parole, California would save $170 million per year. Studies from the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice web site show “The cost of a system which imposes a maximum penalty of lifetime incarceration instead of the death penalty would be $11.5 million per year.”(2088) In conclusion, facts show that the death penalty actually costs the state over four times the cost of life time prisoners.
Violent video games lead to an increase in crime.
Studies show that violent video games lead to an increase in crime. This is actually very shocking to me, that studies were made for one thing and also that they show violent games lead to an increase in crime. These studies were made on 18-24yo adults and also 18 and below adolescence. In these studies the test groups were monitored for signs of aggression and the absence of helping others. The scientists found that, although the violent nature could not be examined, those groups that played these violent games had an increase in aggression and a decrease in helping others. I believe the two tests were picked to prove an increase in violent behavior.
Unregistered aliens commit more crimes per capita than citizens do. This particular question had to be the hardest to find resources for. There were many articles comparing races but not many scholarly sources comparing citizenship. I finally found one source, which is an e-book, comparing the crime rate of U.S. citizens, legal immigrants and illegal immigrants. The main issue I have with this and other sources I’ve seen is the base of their tests. Lidia E. Nuño who wrote the e-book “Examining the Relationship between Immigration Status and Criminal Involvement: Do Illegal Immigrants Commit More Crime?” only used the state of Arizona and some official data. I feel that a question of this magnitude should be researched using a much wider area. Nonetheless, her studies show that U.S. citizens commit more crime, in two categories, than legal and illegal immigrants. While U.S. citizens are shown to commit more crime in vandalism, property damage and violent crimes; legal and illegal immigrants are show to commit more drug related crimes.

References
A.Anderson, C. (2003, October 30). An update on the effects of playing violent video games. Ames, Iowa, USA.
Death Penalty Information Center. (2012, june 30). Costs of the Death Penalty. Retrieved from deathpenaltyinfo.org: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty
Nuño, L. E. (2011, August). Do Illegal Immigrants Commit More Crime? ARIZONA, United States.
The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. (2008). REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE ADMINISTRATION. CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON THE FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
Violent video games incite kids to crime, s. S. (2012, August 6). Violent video games incite kids to crime, says Scipione. Retrieved from www.news.com: http://www.news.com.au/technology/gaming/violent-video-games-incite-kids-to-crime-says-scipione/story-e6frfrt9-1226443402160

Repurposed from ENGL103-X-1204B-06