The issue of capital punishment has been a longstanding controversial issue in American society. Our society has always had dissenters who have tried to abolish the death penalty in our country. Despite several tries by the American government to regulate and, eventually, stop the death penalty, this form of punishment has been unsuccessful in deterring murders from committing violent crimes.
             In 1972 the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional. In the case of Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court voted that the death penalty violated Eighth Amendment rights because it was a cruel and unusual punishment. By 1976, capital punishment was reinstated because enough states rewrote their laws in order to comply with the court ruling.
             One may believe that death is a very proper way to deal with someone who has killed another human being. This complex opinion can be traced to a juvenile principle of "getting a taste of their own medicine." Although this principle seems extremely fitting for a criminal who has committed a heinous crime, statistically, it does not make sense to institute such a punishment. In 1974, while capital punishment was not in place, the national crime rate was 10.1. This is above the average crime rate for the years 1900-1999 (6.9). Although this fact may prove that crime went up when the death penalty wasn't an option, one should refer to the national crime rate in the year of 1980. In this given year, the crime rate was an exuberant 10.7. The point that this shows is that if a human being is going to commit a crime, they will do it regardless of the consequences.
             Capital punishment is a ludicrous means of punishment and in many cases, it is not a punishment at all. In June of 2001, the first federal prisoner in 38 years was executed. His name was Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh committed the worst act of terror by an American citizen in American history. McVeigh asked for his lawye...