Why does the author put quotations marks around some words in the passage

Thesis - the cost of a death sentence far outweighs the costs associated with sentencing a convicted criminal to life in prison. which evidence best supports the thesis above xo a. the advent of the death penalty can be traced back to hammurabi's famous set of laws. ✓o b. the state of texas spent almost $1.2 million on the execution of leonard hughes. o c. seventeen states, including washington, currently have criminals awaiting execution o d. many people believe that the death penalty should be abolished for various reasons,