Important aspects of capital punishment are the methods of execution, costs, and the pros and cons. Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is currently the most severe kind of punishment used in the United States and the world. It is the most severe form of corporal punishment, requiring law enforcement to actually kill the convicted offender. Capital punishment is used to punish those that commit violent crimes such as murder. It has been banned in numerous countries; in the United States, however, an earlier move to eliminate capital punishment has now been reversed. More and more states are resorting to capital punishment for serious offenses, namely murder. Even the Bible encourages "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" mentality and people have been using it regularly for centuries. .
There is a lot of debating over capital punishment today about whether or not it works, or if it is even morally right. It brings up questions like: Is the death penalty a cruel and unusual punishment or is it now just a necessary tool in the war against crime? With today's increase in crime and violence in our society, the death penalty affects every American, whether interested or not, and it has existed for a very long time now. The use of the death penalty has actually gone down throughout the industrial World since the 19th century. In 1972, a movement in America to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional took place. During the court case of Furman vs. Georgia, the protesters declared the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment. Even though this happened, a Supreme Court decision in 1975, the court case of Gregg vs. Georgia, stated that capital punishment did not violate the eighth amendment rights, and the executions began again under state supervision. These inconsistencies and vacillations have created a major a debate.
In my search for information I found six major things I think are big issues in the pros and cons to the death penalty.
