Throughout history man has struggled to control the one inevitable factor of life. This has been done unsuccessfully. Currently the best example of such a trial is capital punishment.

Capital punishment has been debated, used, and even considered routine in most civilizations, including our own.

There are two sides to every argument capital punishment is no exception. In fact both sides have some extremely valid arguments which can be very convincing. When presented alone each side can cite many facts, figures, and beliefs that will make for a very articulate and compelling argument. Here lies the problem, because both sides are able to produce such an argument a person is easily swayed depending only on what he or she has not heard. Therefore, is n

A large part of the controversy comes from this question: Do we as a society or even as the human race have the right to give a sentence as extreme as death? The answer, unfortunately, is unknown. Of course either side would tell you their answer is the correct one. A decision such as this, however, should be made only by what we as individuals think and believe. This will make the society you live in that much closer to your own.

When it comes to issues of practicality money always seems to be at the top of the list. It seems likely that it would cost more to keep someone in prison for life than to execute them. However, this particular case is somewhat deceiving. The average cost to obtain and carry out the death sentence is approximately 2.2 million dollars (Johnson, 1990). It has been estimated that this is more costly than the incarceration of a prisoner for one hundred years (Johnson, 1990).

ecessary for every person to unbiasedly hear both sides of the issue.

We know that where there is philosophy there is also practicality. No argument should be viewed using only morals and ethics. Who can say which belief is right. Our values are for the most part relative. Because of this we must learn to see the practical sides of an argument. As with the issue of morality, practicality is also offered from both sides.

There are a number of issues dealing with the use of punishment by death in our society. However, the issues discussed seem to bring more people to a decision than any others. It is this very reason that people need to hear both sides of these issues. Either side of the argument can easily sway a person to one stance or the other, however when presented together the decision is more difficult, and a decision this crucial to our society should never be an easy one to make. So what is the answer? Could this be the first step toward our society's loss of respect for life? Will such contemptuous acts towards human existence lead to the end of our civilization as it has for past civilizations? If we do not take extreme measures, will we be forced to live in fear, and not as a society at all? Will this world be an unfit or unsafe place to live? The answer? Probably not. Non the less this is still a decision tha

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Approximate Word count = 1527
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)