Dating all the way back to the late seventeen hundreds, the death penalty was used to punish all types of crimes such as robbery, treason, and even counterfeiting. According to Collins English Dictionary, the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is defined as a punishment by death for a crime (Capital, Collins English Dictionary). Although the qualifications to purse the death penalty have changed, to this day there are still over thirty states that still have the death penalty including some big states like Texas and California. Even the United States Military still uses the death penalty. The qualifications required to pursue death penalty vary from state to state. For example, in California an offender must commit first-degree murder with special circumstances such as sabotage, treason or fatal assault by a prisoner serving a life sentence. In contrast, an offender in Washington just has to commit an aggravated first-degree murder. All states have one common theme in their qualifications requirements to pursue the death penalty and that is to have some kind of aggravating factors that make the crime more "harsh" then murder. Although there is no harsher crime then murdering someone, more then half the United States still uses the death penalty as a way to "serve justice." In reality justice is not being served because by states having the death penalty, they are violating citizens' rights, causing extra clogging in our courts, wasting taxpayers' money, and killing innocent people.
There are numerous reasons why people believe the death penalty should be eradicated. When all the problems are boiled down there are four key problems with having the death penalty as a punishment. Many people believe the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, which deprives humans their rights to due process. Also, the nonstop appeals and extra required procedures that need to be taken as safety precautions, back our nation's court system up even more then what it already is.
