Death Penalty - Capital Punishment in the United States

Capital Punishment in the United States

"Your eye shall not pity; it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." Deuteronomy 19:21

Does this bible verse support those in their belief that advocate for the death penalty? Was it 'Daniel Frank' the first executed in the territory called the United States that created this ongoing debate?

The debate over the use and imposition of capital punishment varies over a wide spectrum of beliefs and issues. What cannot be debated is the fact that murder is an unjustified intentional killing. Murder can be committed by an individual acting against our enacted laws and morality as well as a government acting on behalf of its citizenry. State authorized killings and criminal murders both demonstrate a lack of respect for human life. Both abolitionists and proponents of the death penalty search for the answers to what is the appropriate penalty for one who murders another.

The Eighth Amendment prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment" is controlling upon the Supreme Courts analysis of capital punishment. It was Furman v. Georgia ruled that this type of punishment violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment due to arbitrary sentencing. States later revamped their statutes to avoid the issues raised in Furman.

Pro-Death Perspective:

Arguments that support the use of death penalty for criminal offenders hinge on deterrence and retribution. The deterrence argument focuses on the notion that executions deter potential offenders from committing similar acts (to aid in the prevention of a future crime).

Have you spoken with someone who said that they have not committed these types of offenses for fear that as a part of their sentence the death penalty would be imposed?

Anti-Death Perspective:

Albert Camus reflecting on the use of the guillotine, state that "there will be no lasting peace either in the heart of individuals or in social customs until death is outlawed." The threat of death does not have any effect on homicide rates.