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While the death penalty only applies to the most heinous crimes, its existence is still considered as a sensitive issue. Research reveals that it has a long-term effect towards the victims and the people involved in the case.

Research suggests that an individual who went through a traumatic loss might find it hard to allow positive emotions to sink in. A person filled with anger and grief is often caught up in negativity, which can be passed on to his/her offspring. That being said, parents do not only pass on physical traits, but strong emotions as well.

Psychology Today discussed the story of Dylann Roof, a 22-year-old who was sentenced to the death penalty on June 2015 after he shot nine people inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Roof open fired and killed his victims with no remorse. He even proclaimed in a statement that he did not feel sorry for taking nine lives. 

As a result of what Roof did, he was sentenced to death, which turned out to have an emotional impact on his victims' families as they too, were filled with hate and anger. Some of the family members even voiced out that death was not enough to compensate for the crime that he did.

"And no verdict can heal the wounds of the five church members who survived the attack or the souls of those who lost loved ones to Roof's callous hand," Attorney General Lynch explained during an interview. "But we hope that the completion of the prosecution provides the people of Charleston-and the people of our nation-with a measure of closure."

The death penalty can still be tagged as a sensitive issue up to this date. Oxford Human Rights Hub mentioned that aside from the families of the victims and the accused, the lawyers are burdened as well, as they did their part in saving the life of the accused. The guards working on the death row are also facing the weight of walking into the cells of the prisoners that would soon lose their lives.