Capital punishment is a subject you can always count on for a lively discussion with plenty of opinions and lots of questions. The dilemma of kill or be killed confronts civilized society daily. A strong case can be made in principle both for and against capital punishment. The argument in favor is based on justice and the nature of a moral community, which requires that each person respect the life and liberty of others. Those who commit vicious crimes destroy the basis on which a moral community rests, their rights to citizenship, and even to life itself. The argument against is based on love and justice and the nature of an ideal community in which forgiveness reigns and the hope for redemption and that it is a violation of the 8th and 14th amendments to the constitution. 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. I will be stating the issues on why I don't agree with capital punishment. .
One tactic that can be used is life imprisonment without parole. It serves the same purposes as capital punishment at less cost without the practical disadvantages and injustices of its actual practice. Protection of the innocent requires that criminals be isolated, and they should be. If there is a way to keep criminals off the streets without killing them then that's what should be used. Inmates should be able to work in the prison to earn money, and that money would be directed to helping the family of the person(s) that they killed. Many people feel that the death penalty will deter criminals from killing. This does not seem to be con firmed by an analysis of the available data. However, it feels correct for some people. The death penalty has not been shown to be effective in the reduction of the homicide rate.
