The death penalty is not a new idea in our world. Its origins date back over 3,700 years to the Babylonian civilization, where it was prescribed for a variety of crimes. (Capital Punishment p.10). It was also greatly used in the Greek and Roman Empires. It continued into England during the Middle Ages, and then to the American colonies where it exists still today. In the colonies, death was a prescribed punishment for crimes such as: murder, rape, arson, and perjury.
             The death penalty is necessary and has a positive effect on society today. It is an effective deterrent of crime as well as a safeguard for society, it helps to keep order in our cities. I feel it is a just and effective punishment for those who have committed crimes heinous enough to deserve death. Does the death penalty truly deter crimes and murder? This question is at the heart of a heated political controversy over the punishment. Opponents of the death penalty say "no" because of the large number of people on "Death Row" today. They also say that States which use the death penalty have a higher crime rate than those that do not, and therefore it is not effective and even contributes to the problem. (http://www.rit.edu/~wwl2461/cp.html). I must point out however, that States with the death penalty are usually highly urbanized areas which are likely to have high crime rates because of the large populations. Rural states, by contrast do not have the same need for the death penalty because the population is lower and scattered throughout the region. States that utilize capital punishment do so because of high crime rates, not vice versa. (http://www.rit.edu/~wwl2461/cp.html).
             Abolitionists also state that the death penalty is a racist punishment, and only given to African Americans. In the May 11, 1998 issue of JET magazine it stated that over 50% of all blacks favour the death penalty. (JET Magazine). According
             ...