Twenty billion dollars. This is the amount of money we once paid each year for prisons. This may seem like an absurd amount, but what's even crazier is the fact that this amount has quadrupled since 1980. Since the cost of prison is a cause and effect relationship, it is rational to assume that this increase is due to a sharp increase in arrests. Fortunately, there is a way to keep everyone in our country safe, slow rising costs, and free up prison space. This is the death penalty, the most sensible and cost-effective solution to violent crime in today's world, which is the focus of this research paper. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, capital punishment saves money that could be used to accomplish better things. From 1984 to 2005, a new prison facility was built approximately every 8.5 days. This is largely due to the 300% increase in violent offenders incarcerated between 1980 and 2013. If we had used capital punishment on even just some of these violent offenders, it would have reduced the amount of new facilities needed and, consequently, the amount of money that taxpayers would have had to pay. It would conserve space, along with resources like food. Even simple things like heating and air conditioning would be eliminated, along with polluting byproducts. By accepting capital punishment as a legitimate option for the future, we can save space, money and resources. According to a 2017 prison survey conducted by Prisonpolicy.org, two-thirds of respondents said they had not received mental or behavioral counseling while in federal prison. Of those who did, less than half said they found it helpful. By using the money we currently use to build new facilities, we can reform mental and behavioral counseling systems in prison. This will bring great benefits to both prisoners and people in our world in general, because prisoners who are not serving life sentences will be better off mentally once they return to the real world. This would help our prison system transform from prison facilities to rehabilitation centers. Many people argue that because the cost of capital punishment is more expensive than life imprisonment, we should abolish it. While the costs of the two options individually support this claim, it is the indirect payments that are the primary concern. There are many aspects of the prison system that need reform, and changing them will almost certainly cost money. By using the death penalty more strategically to reduce the need for new prisons, we can work to improve conditions for prisoners not serving life sentences and prisoners serving life sentences for nonviolent reasons. Mental health issues are a problem in our country, which makes it a problem in our prisons as well. By helping to solve these types of problems, we can take a step towards a reformed system. Still on the subject of mental health, life imprisonment decreases safety in prison for reasons related to mental and behavioral health. According to the Sentencing Project, 1 in 7 prisoners is serving a life sentence. Twenty percent of all inmates have been in solitary confinement, and psychologists at the Wright Institute have found that solitary confinement causes harmful psychological effects. If we take this information and reflect on it, we can assume that many people serving life sentences have been or are in solitary confinement. The fact that isolation causes long-term mental problems means that probably.