The death penalty is the most controversial penal practice in the modern world. Other harsh, physical forms of criminal punishment- referred to as corporal punishment- have generally been eliminated in modern times as uncivilized and unnecessary. In the majority of countries, contemporary methods of punishment such as imprisonment or fines - no longer involve the infliction of physical pain. Although imprisonment and fines are universally recognizes as necessary to the control of crime, the nations of the world are split on the issue of capital punishment. About 80 nations have abolished the death penalty and an almost unequal number of nations retain it. The trend in most industrialized nations has been to first stop executing prisoners and then to substitute long terms of imprisonment for death as the most severe

Even though the retentionists pose some interesting arguments, I myself feel that the abolitionist perspective contains much stronger backing and more reasons for opposition, the first of which is that the death penalty is wrong morally because it is the cruel and inhumane taking of a human life. The methods by which executions are carried out can involve physical torture. "Electrocution has on occasion caused extensive burns and needed more than one application of electric current to kill the condemned" . To many opponents, capital punishment is a euphemism for legally killing people and no one, not even the State, has the authority to play God.

Con: Abolitionists believe that the offender should be required to compensate the victim's family with the offender's own income from employment or community service. There is no doubt that someone can do more alive than dead. By working, the criminal inadvertently "pays back" society and also their victim and/or the victim's family. There is no reason for the criminal to receive any compensation for his work. Money is of no value in jail. One of the most well known examples of the criminal contributing to the betterment of society is the case of Leopold and Loeb. Leopold and Loeb were nineteen years old when they committed "The Crime of the Century." In 1924 they kidnapped and murdered a fourteen year old boy just to see what it was like. They were both spared the death penalty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Together, their accomplishments include working at hospitals, teaching illiterates to read, creating a correspondence school, making significant developments in the World War II Malaria Project and writing a grammar book. "An inestimable amount of people were directly helped by Leopold and Loeb; both of them making a conscious commitment to atone by serving others" .

If capital punishment were carried out more it would prove to be the crime deterrent it was partly intended. Most criminals would think twice before committing murder if they knew their own lives was at stake. As it turns out though very few people are executed and so the death penalty is not a satisfactory deterrent. During highly publicized death penalty cases the homicide rate is found to go down but it goes back up when the case is over.

off all criminals' penalties. The United States is an important exception to this trend. The federal government and a majority of U.S states provide for the death penalty and from 50 to 75 executions occur each year throughout the United States. Each year there are about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment enforced in the United Sates today. Once a jury has convicted a criminal offense they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees then the criminal will face some form of execution, lethal injection is the most common form used today. There was a period from 1972 to 1976 that capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Their reason for this decision was that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. The decision was reversed when new methods of execution were introduced. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as there are people. In my project, both sides have been presented and argued with focus on several topics as listed below. This page was constructed to show the different opinions held by my friends and people whom I work with. There is plenty of useful information within this work. I hope you find it helpful and informative.

Even though the retentionists pose some interesting arguments, I myself feel that the abolitionist perspective contains much stronger backing and more reasons for opposition, the first of which is that the death penalty is wrong morally because it is the cruel and inhumane taking of a human life. Th

Some common words found in the essay are:
Enforcement Act, Ted Bundy's, Isaac Ehrlich's, Capital Punishment, United Bundy, Ted Bundy, Virginia Wisconsin, Leopold Loeb, Supreme Court, Beginning California, death penalty, capital punishment, death row, sentenced death, innocent person, supreme court, punishment carried, capital punishment carried, justice system, death penalty wrong, carried death, public defense, carried death penalty, effect reduced costs, ideology effect reduced,
Approximate Word count = 3183
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)