c ritual." The
             electric chair is supposed to be a very humane way of administering death, if there
             is one" (Zimring, & Hawkins, 1986, p.1).
             Every Western Industrial nation has stopped executing criminals, except the United
             States. Most Western nations have executed criminals in this century, and many
             were executed after World War II. Then executions suddenly decreased (Clay,
             1990, p.9). This is partly because the people in many European countries might
             have been tired of killing from the war. In most cases the countries and states that
             stopped capital punishment followed with its formal abolition shortly after (Clay,
             1990, p.10). One reason that the United States did not end capital punishment at
             this time is partly due to the fact that the war was never fought on our soil and US
             citizens had not all lived through the death and destruction of WWII personally.
             Some think that the United States should have followed Europe's lead and
             abolished capital punishment; some think it never should.
             The truth of the matter is, the United States should cease the use of capital
             punishment in both federal and state prisons. Capital punishment is immoral and
             unethical; it degrades society, and lowers the value of a human life. It does not
             deter murder, it is not economically efficient, and its effects are irreversible. There
             is not one good reason to keep executing wrongdoers in the United States or
             Capital punishment goes against the morals and standards that our country is based
             upon...