For several decades the death penalty has been a litigious issue. Numerous intellectuals as well as the general public often debate the morality of capital punishment and whether or not it should be legal. The death penalty should be legal because of the theory of "an eye for an eye", how it helps in reducing murders, and the fact that the death penalty is not inhumane.
Though there is no question in many minds of American citizens that the death penalty should be legal, there are still the select few that have reasons for opposing capital punishment. It is felt that many of the prisoners executed were guiltless and did not get an unbiased trial. The idea of innocent people being put to death literally makes people nauseous. Others believe that the death penalty violates the constitution under the "cruel and unusual punishments" section. The decision of which criminals deserve the death for their actions and which do not causes many citizens to lean away from execution as a penalty. .
One of the principal theories of the Middle Ages was "an eye for an eye", which means something like "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". How dare a person take the very life of another living being? A person has control of his or her own destiny, and no other human should have the right to take that control away. However, when they do, something more than the life sentence should be given. Thousands of convicted murderers sit securely in jail sucking up the tax money of people who choose to abide by the laws. It is truly disgusting to hear of these despicable human beings living a more comfortable life in prison than many people will ever live. It is as a spokesperson once said: "Murderers should suffer, and life imprisonment is insufficient suffering as retribution for taking a life."(Bedau, 1978; Finkcenauer, 1988).
Though it is not scientifically proven that the threat of the death penalty drastically reduces murders, it is a very strong idea.