I once saw a bumper sticker that read, "Why do we kill people, who kill people, to show that killing is wrong?" Suddenly I thought about what I had read, and I finally came to the conclusion that I am against the death penalty as a solution to crime.
             Capital punishment is a sign of a deep sickness in our civilization. Execution is an act of violence, but you cannot use violence to end violence. The death penalty is not an effective way to punish a criminal. It is used by the powerful to pretend that violent crime is under control, and being disposed of, but in reality the death penalty disposes of the poor, the uneducated, and the minorities in the world. Even states that use the death penalty seem to have a higher number of homicides than states that do not use it. Capital punishment has never been shown to eliminate crime more effectively than other punishments. If the death penalty isn't lowering the murder rate then why waste the taxpayer's money? It cost more to put a prisoner to death with any method than it does to keep them incarcerated.
             Our justice system shouldn't just execute the criminal; they should also make his life miserable. Prisons should supply the bare necessities and nothing else. One solution is to eliminate televisions, libraries, gyms and basketball courts. Even though our prisons need to toughen up, I do give them credit for taking away a criminals freedom.
             There are still, of course, many family members who want to see the offenders dead. The family's emotions are understandable, but death is not a solution. The victim's family has to suffer for a lifetime, so why shouldn't the murderer suffer too?
             Another problem is the chance or executing an innocent person. The executed prisoner cannot be given another chance. In the last hundred years there have been more that seventy-five documented cases of wrongful convictions in criminal homicide
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