Today, in modern law, the death penalty is corporal punishment in its most severe form. It is irreversible: it ends the existence of those punished, instead of temporarily imprisoning them. Although capital punishment is not intended to inflict physical pain, execution is the only corporal punishment still applied to adults. .
The usual alternative to the death penalty is life-long imprisonment. For the past decades capital punishment has been one of the most controversial political issues in America. This debate is a complicated one. Capital punishment is not merely-or even primarily a legal question. It is a practical, philosophical, social, political, and moral question as well. I don't have any problems with the death penalty only if everything has been investigated and nothing is questionable. I believe in the concept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth because there are always consequences to the things you do and murder should not an exception. The concept of prevention has been at the very center of the practical debate over the question of capital punishment. The fear of death deters people from committing crimes. I believe that the death penalty has a deterrent value because it removes the criminals from society so they will never be able to commit any more crimes. Also, future criminals must understand the consequences of committing a crime. Citizens of the United States have long argued that deterrence is little more than an assumption, and that most murders cannot be stopped by any penalty, including death. They are crimes of passion, committed in moments of intense rage, frustration, hatred, or fear, when the killers aren't thinking clearly of the personal consequences of what they do. I respect their beliefs, but I still believe if the punishment was severe enough, like death, it could prevent them from committing a crime no matter how angry they are. I believe the serial murderers that continuously kill should be put to death so that no more lives will be lost.