Throughout history the government or leader of a tribe or country tends to punish their people if they do something that is considered wrong.
             Whether the punishment is execution or taking away their privileges, if this not done then the people might rebel and eventually the country or civilization will collapse. A country without any way of punishment is just as like a country without a leader.
             Some people would think some punishments are better than others, but in the long run they all aim for a certain cause. For example people in the United States think Execution is better than life imprisonment, they think this because they might become thrilled to watch a person die whether in an electric chair, by hanging, or by any other ways of execution.
             Quote taken from The Bet "The death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life." Personally I don't really agree with this point. There is so much we can learn from this world, and we have not learned enough, for the world is sometimes said to be a vast sea of knowledge. If I were to choose between being executed and being in prison for life, I would choose the second. At least you can ask for forgiveness when you are in prison, which you cannot do while some executioner is chopping off your head, or giving you a lethal injection, or even gassing you to death in the gas chamber.
             People are being punished for their actions no matter what. Take the Israelis for example, they took over our land and what is rightfully ours, and to make them pay back, "Hizb Allah" kidnapped a few of their soldiers. This offcourse is not enough, we should not have peace with them, but take them off our land.
             There are a few theories of "why do we punish" which are:
             1-Theory of Indication: Crime must be punished and be seen to be punished. Law must be respected.
             2-Theory of Deterrence: Deters (stop others from doing crimes).
             3-Theory of Retribution: Eye for ...