A debatable issue in today's society is the death penalty. Should our nation obtain or refrain from this "cruel and unusual" punishment? It all comes down to people's social construction. People are socially constructed in their beliefs as to which side they stand on this issue. The people who are for the ultimate punishment of death for a heinous crime are socially constructed to believe that justice has taken place. For those people who are against the death penalty are socially constructed to believe that justice is not served by taking another human life even though a crime such as murder, aggravated assault, and kidnapping has been committed. Capital punishment is a tough issue to side with because of the fact that innocent lives are being taken according to recent research.
             The death penalty has been around since the beginning of time. However, the first available statistics in death penalty cases was in 1930 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. During the period 1930 to 1967 there were 3,859 people executed under civil jurisdiction in the United States. At the end of the 1960's, all but ten states had laws approving capital punishment. This resulted in moratorium on executions.
             In 1972 the Supreme Court case Furman v. Georgia brought legal challenges to the death penalty decision in which the majority ruled the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment as well as violating the Eighth Amendment. This case collides with federal and state capital punishment laws permitting extensive prudence in the request of the death penalty. These rules were distinguished as "arbitrary and capricious." Although Furman nullified the death penalty for several hundred criminals on death row at the time, it also gave the states a chance to bring their capital punishment laws up to constitutional principles.
             Since the1976 case, Gregg v. Georgia, numerous states have reinstated the death penal...