The subject of capital punishment (or, in layman’s terms, the death penalty) has ebbed and flowed throughout generations and across continents. Because it sits squarely at the intersection of law, economics, and basic morality, Capital punishment has been a hugely contested topic and is one that has to be treaded on lightly.

Though it hasn’t exactly been the most popular of debate topics among Colorado residents, the death penalty has grown amongst the ranks of hot issues recently – most likely because of the Aurora Theater Massacre in the summer of 2012 and the trial taking place around its suspect, James Holmes.

For me, I can see both sides of the coin. On one hand, we have to consider the age old saying of “an eye for an eye.” Because Holmes ruthlessly murdered twelve innocent people and injured countless others, it is ridiculously easy to get caught up in a vendetta to make him pay the price for the horrendous crime he committed. But on the other hand, we have to think of crime and punishment logically, without being tainted by our (though justified) loathing towards the criminal.

Though I’d like to say the main focus of this argument should be justice, morality, and fairness, that is sadly not the case. Instead, debaters tend to concentrate on the economics of Capital punishment – to be blunt, how much it costs us to feed and house them for the rest of their lives versus killing them on the spot. But what seems to go unnoticed by the side encouraging the death penalty is very simple: It costs more (around a tenth of a billion more) to execute a prisoner than it does to keep them imprisoned with a sentence of life without parole.

The Los Angeles Times did a study on the state of California and concluded that taxpayers in California alone pay more than 250 million dollars for each execution. But the tricky part is that it isn’t just one expensive fee – the hefty check comes from numerous different constitutionally required parts of an execution trial, none of which can be eliminated or reduced to a significant extent.

But besides the fact that it’s more expensive, Capital punishment is wrong on so many deeper levels. For one thing, it’s almost petty. The only logic behind it is taking immediate revenge on the person who did wrong, instead of forcing them to live through their punishment. Imagine it: Would you rather have someone who murdered someone you care about die a quick, painless death? Or would you rather them rot in a secure prison cell, being forced to work and remember their crime for the rest of their existence?

On top of that, Capital punishment unnecessarily ends a life. To quote a New York Times political cartoon, “Why do we kill people who kill people to show people that killing people is wrong?” It perfectly describes the circular logic that is the death penalty, and is just another reason why I can’t justify turning the murderer into the murdered.

For me, the choice is clear. Whether it’s financially, morally, or logically, the death penalty just doesn’t make sense.