The use of capital punishment in the U.S. is a growing concern for most American citizens. Controversy of whether to abolish it or not creates moral confusion. On one hand it brings justice, yet on the other its taking a life. According to statistics seventy percent of Americans are in support of the death penalty, while only thirty percent are against it. This clearly shows that a majority of people want to continue using this type of punishment ("Fact" 1). Digging deeper within the debate, one would find that there are two sides to every party’s opinion; whether it be religious, governmental, or other. After examining expenditures, morality, deterrent compensations, and retributions, one will likely conclude that the benefits of Capital punishment outweigh the harm. The economical argument that people must always consider is the cost of the death penalty opposed to life imprisonment. According to California state records, the operating expense to finance the penalty costs tax payers more than $114 million annually (Tempest). A 2005 report from Newsday concluded that New Jersey tax payers have spent a total of $253 million since 1983, which is an incomparably greater cost than if capital punishment was idle (Newsday). "A 1991 study of the Texas criminal justice system estimated the cost of appealing capital murder at $2,316,655. In contrast, the cost of housing a prisoner in a Texas maximum security prison single cell for 40 years is estimated at $750,000" (Punishment). People have raised the question, “Why keep the death penalty if it is so costly?” and have also stated, “It is a wasteful investment that is only adding to the national debt.” The death penalty is not nearly as wasteful as the pork-barrel spending and project funding that our government does constantly. If tax payers are looking for financial relief, they should fight against their dollars going to abstract causes. A famous, or rather infamous, example of this frivolous spending is seen in a...