Alternatives to the Death Penalty
             "It's quite obvious that the forms of punishment for particular crimes in a society are related to the social conditions and institutions of that society," (Wood, 63).
             The social conditions and institutions of today are pushing for alternatives to the death penalty more than ever because they see the death penalty as an inhumane and cruel form of punishment, a violation of life, and a form of degrading treatment. When society is advised of, and understand, the different alternatives that are offered for the death penalty, their support becomes a minimum opinion, and therefore, subject to the political defeat. The two alternatives that are sued most frequently are life imprisonment, and rehabilitation/counseling. However, there are more differences than similarities between them.
             The abolition of the death penalty sends many different messages. They say that there is a way to break the cycle of violence, that society needs to stop taking life for granted, that society could be a more humane place to live, and that there are more effective ways to respond to the growth of violence. It is also a "challenge to us as people to find ways of dealing with criminals that manifest intelligence and compassion rather than power and vengeance, (Mays 75). Society should have the confidence in the legal system that excessive force would not be used against an individual than is required.
             Death also takes away form the chance for the criminal to be reformed through rehabilitation. Most importantly, when someone is to be executed, it is not only the prisoner that suffers. For example, as noted in Crime and its Punishment, when a person is sent to the death penalty, there are many people that are affected by it. The family and friends of the criminal are affected, but most importantly Overall society is also affected because it costs a lot of money to execute someone.
             The legal p...