Since the formation of modern civilized cultures mankind has had some form of dealing with the those whom would choose to obstruct justice and order. More commonly during those times men were confined to imprisonment for very short terms. What happened to them? Where they socially corrected? No they were brought to a so called justice by form of capital punishment.
Capital Punishment is better known today as the death penalty. In ancient times this was the only way to "correct" the criminally challenged. Some of the techniques used were stoning, draw and quartering and beheading. While all these methods of executions my seem barbaric it is no different then what a modern day criminal might face if convicted and sentenced with the death penalty.
The death penalty in American society today is an outrageous attempt to find fast and quick solutions to criminal behavior. Originally the death penalty was used to help deter the appeal of committing or acting in a criminal nature. However this process has felled as can be seen in Americas alarming rise in all forms of crime. .
Why do so many find capital punishment acceptable, in a world where we can invade countries because we think they are under the rule of a cruel and harsh ruler? Because they feel that it is a more cost-effective method then simply impressing a committed felon to life in prison. However most Americans are unaware that it cost on average over one million dollars per case (excluding some such as Timothy McVeigh where it reached over 7 million) to have a person executed. That seems to be a rather substantial amount of American tax dollars going to a process that the general public believed to be fast and cost effective.
If those millions of dollars had been given out to different research facilities, it is possible that psychologist and doctors may have been able to study and understand the criminal element much better.