There are several reasons why a state might, or might not legislate capital punishment. Some of the reasons given for the use of capital punishment include; deterrence, punishment and or retribution and because of the notion of "doing justice." (Page 125, Punishment and the Death Penalty) Yet those who oppose capital punishment feel that it does not deter crime and that it is "unjust because it may lead to the executio

We as Americans are given the opportunity to answer the question that has been presented to us, whether or not capital punishment deters future criminal acts. To answer this question, it would be helpful to look at all the facts that have been presented to us. We must take into account the results of the different studies, both those for and against capital punishment. We must ask ourselves whether or not the information provided is relevant and which of it more accurately reflects a realistic answer to whether or not capital punishment deters future criminal acts.

Both Stephen Layson and Isaac Ehrlich have produced studies in which conclude significant evidence towards supporting the idea that capital punishment does indeed deter crime. The "scientific approaches" taken by these two authors, along with research from many others helps in supporting the age-old question of deterrence. (Page 74 The Death Penalty, Opposing Viewpoints) For those who need the data there is Ehrlich and Layson to provide "hard" facts while for others, all that is needed is "common sense." (Page 45, The Death Penalty)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, promotes "the fundamental rights as the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world." The political parties in Europe often "condemn the United States as human rights violators," due to the fact that we still enforce capital punishment. These abolitionists point to Article Five of the Declaration of Independence, which states that "No one shall be subjected to cruel or degrading punishment," and the Eighth amendment of the United States Constitution, which prevents humans from being subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment." Since the beginning of mankind, capital punishment has been a practiced form of sentencing in many countries, thus it can not be considered unusual nor cruel if the United States Supreme Court has not declared it illegal. (Page 73 The Death Penalty, Opposing Viewpoints) Daniel Lazare in his essay "Your Constitution Is Killing You," describes the positive and negative aspects of this question raised by abolitionists, and confirms the fact that it is not unconstitutional nor cruel or unusual. Thus there would be no need to dismiss capital punishment. (Fields of Reading)

In the past decade, the amount of executions in the United States has "increased while the murder rate has declined." Those in favor of capital punishment at

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