Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.

Capital punishment barely made its way into American society. In Britain, public executions were festive and frequent in the 15th century. At the same time a movement to abolish the death penalty gained support throughout Europe. In 1753, Russia became the first important nation to ban the death penalty. The English instilled the death penalty upon America when it was just a colony. Ben Franklin opposed the death penalty as he helped write the Bill of Rights and the well alluded to 8th Amendment. In 1846 Michigan was the first to re

peal capital punishment. By 1917, ten states had repealed capital punishment.

Lewis E. Lawes, for many years was the warden at Sing Sing Prison in New York, had this to say about what happens in the electric chair: "The prisoner leaps as if to break the strong leather straps that hold him down. Sometimes a thin wisp of smoke breaks itself out from under the helmet that hold the head of the electrode, followed by the faint odor of burning flesh. [The body heats to 130 degrees, a little less than rare roast beef.] The hands turn red, then white, and the cords of the neck stand out like steel bands." Supporters of the electric chair say it is no different than being naturally struck by lightning, which is an instant death.

Many of those who are anti death penalty believe that the execution themselves are cruel and unusual. The more common styles of execution are the gas chamber and lethal injection. Both are considered the softer of the approved execution methods. The more talked about method used in the United States is the electric chair. It is the more talked about due to the problems it sometimes encounters. There have been accounts of people living through the applications of electricity at very high voltage and having to reapply electricity until death. The eyes of the executed are commonly covered so that they do not fall out.

A very important issue is whether or not the death penalty affects the people of the U.S. Those who argue against capital punishment believe that the punishment given to criminals is intended to provide for some type of rehabilitation. If the criminal is killed than the purpose of a penalty is defeated. They also believe that prison keeps dangerous criminals away from society just as well as having them killed. Those who support the death penalty argue that the fact that the lives of the criminals are being taken intimidates potential killers. Unfortunately according to a recent survey of police chiefs and sheriffs, the death penalty ranks last as a way of reducing violent crime. Patrick V. Murphy, former police chief of New York, Washington, and Detroit says that, "Police chiefs would rather spend their limited crime-fighting dollars on such proven measures as community policing

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