There has always been a great deal of controversy over the concept of capital punishment. There are those who believe that the death penalty not only rightfully punishes the criminal but, also, deters future criminals. On the other side of the heated debate are those who feel capital punishment is morally wrong and question its effectiveness. They believe the death penalty to be cruel and unusual punishment. There are various reasons why people are for or against the death sentence. Some are reasoned; others are purely emotional. Whatever the case, capital punishment remains one of the most delicate topics in recorded history.
             Capital punishment has been a common form of punishment throughout history in most countries. Its origins date back over 3,700 years to the Babylonian civilization where it was prescribed for a variety of crimes. It was also greatly used in the Greek and Roman empires. It continued into England during the Middle Ages, and then to the American colonies. In the colonies, death was a prescribed punishment for crimes such as murder, rape, arson and perjury. In the new millennium, capital punishment has been virtually abolished in all of Western Europe and most of Latin America. The United States remains the only Western democracy to retain the death penalty (Muraskin & Roberts, 2002).
             Supporters of the death penalty have many strong arguments that detail the benefits. Economics is the basis for the first of these arguments. Money is not an unlimited resource for covering the cost of maintaining an inmate in prison for a lifetime. This is an unfair and unnecessary burden on taxpayers. The resources would be better spent on the old, the young, and the sick rather than the long-term imprisonment of murderers and rapists. The second argument for the death penalty is retribution. Execution
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