In American society, the threat of capital .
punishment stands as the ultimate sentence for a .
The moral ramifications of the taking .
of another life, whether it be by murder or as .
legally accepted punishment, remains an unresolved .
conflict between Americans. Despite the fact that .
capital punishment, otherwise known as the "death .
penalty", is legal in only a handful of countries .
in the world, the majority of Americans regard it .
as acceptable retribution. In the 1981 Gallup .
Poll, two-thirds of Americans voiced general .
approval of capital punishment. By 1994, the same .
poll concluded that a tremendous 80% of Americans .
approved of capital punishment (Moore, 1994:5). It .
is no wonder that many of our countries leaders .
endorse the death penalty. The former Speaker of .
the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, .
believes that mass executions of "27 or 30 or 35 .
people at a time" would be effective in the .
reduction of the importation of illegal drugs in .
to America (Taylor, 1995). In 1972, capital .
punishment was eradicated in the United States .
when the Supreme Court declared that under then .
existing laws "imposition and carrying out of the .
death penalty. constitutes cruel and unusual .
punishment in violation of the 8th and 14th .
amendments." (Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238). .
This decision, however, was repealed in 1976 by .
the Supreme Court. Advocates of capital .
punishment claim that it is an effective deterrent .
against crime and that it is morally just. The .
statistics, however, point the opposite direction, .
indicating that capital punishment has little to .
no effect on the occurrence of crime and is a .
profoundly discriminatory and a morally .
conflicting practice. .
Americans are intimately concerned with crime .
rates and the safety within their communities. The .
most widely cited argument for the death penalty .
is the claim that it is an effective deterrent .
against the criminal act of murder. The argument .
