It is obviously the most severe form of criminal punishment. (Bedau1) Capital punishment is a controversial way of dealing with violent criminals. The main alternative to the death penalty is life in prison. Capital punishment has been around for thousands of years as a means of eradicating criminals.

The supporters claim that if you take a life you should pay with your life or "an eye for an eye". Opposers of the death penalty bring up the chance of sentencing the innocent and how the death penalty is inhumane.

The Bible mentions that execution should be used for many crimes. (Bedau1) One example of the death penalty in the bible is "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death." (Exodus 21:12).

Supporters of the death penalty rationalize executing because if a man takes a life he shoul

The electric chair was introduced in New York in 1890 .The criminal is seated in a chair. Electrodes are attached to the head and a leg. Pulses of 2000 volts are sent through his body for about three minutes or until he appears to be dead. The fact that the electrodes reach 1900°C and the brain reaches the boiling point causes one to doubt the humanity of this practice.

The gas chamber was first used in Nevada in 1924.The prisoner is strapped into a chair and cyanide gas is administered through a hole in the floor. Death takes from three to four minutes, but prisoners have been known to go into convulsions or choke to death on the gas.

After learning about our modern methods of execution one wonders if these methods are humane. Is being struck with enough electricity to cause the eyeballs pop out of their sockets any better than being beheaded? Is the death penalty

Some common words found in the essay are:
Bible Whosoever, Morin Needles, Bedau1 Capital, , death penalty, capital punishment, gas chamber, dealing violent criminals, violent criminals, life prison, dealing violent, methods execution, eye eye, life pay, appeals process,
Approximate Word count = 588
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)