A legal system is established to maintain order and keep justice in balance with society. The death penalty works through retribution, forces would-be criminals to recognize the consequences, and it displays a form of decency in the maturing of a society. The death penalty has been suspended and then reinstated in the United States because the government believes it works.
             A religious perspective of the death penalty would see that "eye for an eye" and life for a life is a fair and just form of punishment. Retributions must be made for all crimes and in the terms of a capital crime, they should be as severe as the crime itself. For one to go out and commit injustice and then be punished mildly would only convince the perpetrator to go and do it again. If a man placed on death row had been put away for 40 years, he may see that as a weakness in the government and either continues to break the law in jail or wait until he is released again. To punish a man for anything less than his crime would undermine the values society has placed upon the legal system that protects our lives. Not many criminals are sentenced to capital punishment because they see the death penalty as too much for what they would be committing to.
             During the growth of a child's life, they are taught right from wrong in fear of being punished by the parent. The death penalty is the government's way of making sure criminals fear committing some of the most heinous crimes. When a murderer is sentenced to death, potential murders will think again before they decide to place their own life on the line. A study in 1973, by Isaac Ehrlich, produced results that showed for every inmate who was executed, 7 lives were saved because potential murderers were deterred from committing murder. Other studies that have been performed were inconclusive and that is due to the death penalty not being performed every year. Befor
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