Those who support the death penalty believe, or claim to believe, that capital
             punishment is morally and ethically acceptable. The bulk of their evidence comes from the
             Old Testament which actually recommends the use of capital punishment for a number of
             crimes. Others also quote the Sixth Commandment which, in the original Hebrew reads,
             "Thou Shall Not Commit Murder." However, these literal interpretations of selected
             passages from the Bible which are often quoted out of context corrupt the compassionate
             attitude of Judaism and Christianity, which clearly focuses on redemption and forgiveness,
             and urges humane and effective ways of dealing with crime and violence. Those who use
             the Bible to support the death penalty are by themselves since almost all religious groups
             in the United States regard executions as immoral. They include, American Baptist
             Churches USA, American Jewish Congress, California Catholic Council, Christian
             reformed Church, Episcopal Church, Lutheran Church in America, Mennonite General
             Conference, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, Northern Ecumenical
             Council, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church of America, Southern California
             Ecumenical Council, Unitarian/Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, and the
             United Methodist Church (Death Penalty Focus).
             Those that argue that the death penalty is ethical state that former great leaders
             and thinkers such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Kant,
             Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Mill all supported it (Koch 324). However,
             Washington and Jefferson, two former presidents and admired men, both supported
             slavery as well. Surely, the advice of someone who clearly demonstrated a total disregard
             for the value of human life cannot be considered in such an argument as capital
             punishment. In regard to the philosophers, Immanuel Kant, a great ethical ph...