Capital punishment is a very controversial issue. Many people have differing opinions about how a criminal should be disciplined, but there is no one right or correct answer. According to a USA today poll, eighty percent of Americans are currently in favor of the death penalty (USA Today). Presently, thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have the penalty as legal statues, but is this concept of 'a life for a life' the best way to punish a criminal? Of the thirteen states that don't have the death penalty, is crime more likely to occur in their state. Has there been criminal's wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death row? Of course. Does the death penalty really prevent criminals from killing? Does a criminal think about the punishment before the crime? Is the death penalty fair to everyone, even the minorities and the poor? These are some of the questions confronting this debate.
             Two very important Supreme Court cases dealing with capital punishment have been heard regarding this issue. In 1972 the case of Furman vs. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that under the existing laws, "imposition and carrying out of the death penalty...constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eight and Fourteen Amendments of the US Constitution (Supreme Court). Yet four years later, the court shifted in opposition in Gregg vs. Georgia. The Court ruled that the "punishment of death does not invariable violate the US Constitution." The Court ruled that these new statutes contained "objective standards to guide, regularize, and make rationally review able the process of imposing the death sentence" (Rehnquist).
             There are different reasons, both pro and con, for the death penalty. The following list some of the arguments the pro side uses to defend its position. Some believe that those who kill deserve to die. This is called the 'eye for an eye. Tooth for a...