Public execution has been established as a means of punishment since America's beginning and has been a source of great controversy. The church has long taken the stance that no man has the right to take a life, not even those who claim to do so in righteous justice. Others ardently support the right to protect and preserve their peace and safety, heralding capital punishment as a successful means to that end. One thing however, is made clear by the fact that controversy exits at all: there is no doubt that it's practice raises disturbing moral questions among our society.

"For any punishment to be an effective deterrent it must be both consistent and certain. The death penalty is neither. The vast majority of capital crimes are committed during moments of great emotional stress, insanity, in fear, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, when logical thinking has been suspended. Those who commit premeditated murder assume they will never be caught."

Supporters of the death penalty champion its success as a deterrent to violent crime, contrary to a distinct lack of evidence to substantiate such a claim. The idea that the death penalty reduces violent crime would only be true if people considering these crimes were making rational decisions, with the expectation of arrest, conviction, death sentence, and finally execution. One professor at Tufts University who conducted a study in the area of capital punishment and violent crime said this,

In addition to its lack of effectiveness in providing a deterrent for crime, capital punishment raises ques

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