The death penalty dates back to as early as the nineteenth century. In 1972, the landmark case of Furman v. Georgia attempted to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional. This case resulted in the death penalty being legally classified as a form of cruel and unusual punishment (Criminal Punishment, Encarta Encyclopedia, 2001). However, the 1975 case, Gregg v. Georgia reversed the p

Center for B-partisan Education (CFBE). (August 6, 2001). Rethinking the Death Penalty: Rational Thinking or Simple Revenge? Retrieved November 6, 2001 from http://www.expage.com/rethinkdeath.

Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. (2001). Criminal Punishment. Retrieved November 6, 2001 from http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761575693&cid=17#p17.

Furthermore, it costs up to three times the amount to keep a prisoner on death row than it would be to keep him in prison for the rest of his life. The expense comes from the long drawn out appeals process that criminals experience, and the inadequate, court appointed attorneys that poor prisoners receive to defend them. (DPIC, 1997). For example, the death penalty costs the state of North Carolina 2.6 million per execution while it costs the whole nation $700 million since 1976 (DPIC, 1997). In addition, Florida spent an estimated $57 million on the death penalty from 1973 to 1988 to achieve 18 executions - that is an average of $3.2 million per execution (DPIC, 1997). In Texas, a death penalty case averages $2.3 million, about three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at the highest security level for 40 years (DPIC, 1997). However, executions do ensure that an offender will never escape and have the opportunity to commit a crime ever again. This benefit is quite valuable and provides complete security to all of society.

Sandholzer, Kuno. (April 25, 1999). Methods of Execution. Retrieved November 7, 2001 from http://www.agitator.com/dp/methods/.

In conclusion, many people may believe it is immoral to kill a person regardless of the crimes they have committed; yet others contend that this is the only way for justice to prevail. Other arguments against capital punishment allege that if a criminal is immediately put to death, he will never have the opportunity to truly pay for his crime because he is no longer alive; this is to say that the criminal should have to live with the guilt of his crime constantly on his mind, not simply be executed without having learned any sort of lesson or felt any kind of regret. In my opinion, the only way for justice to be served is to have the criminal pay with their life, " an eye for an eye." Many people believe that capital punishment does not belong in a civilized society. I believe it is necessary because we do not live in a civilized society. If we did, there would be no crime in the first place. We live in a world where horrible crimes of all kinds are frequent and expected. Murder happens everyday, and many people get away with their crimes. The ones

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