The use of capital punishment in the U.S. is a growing concern for most American citizens. According to statistics seventy percent of Americans are in support of the death penalty, while only thirty percent are against it. These statistics show that few people are against capital punishment (Fact 1). With the use of the death penalty growing the controversy is becoming more heated. With only twelve states left not enforcing it the resistance is becoming futile (Fact 4). Many debates have been made and even clauses have been invoked, such as, the Cruel and Unusual Clause that was invoked by the Supreme Court in 1962 (Meltsner 179). The use of death as a punishment has been viewed as cruel and unusual, but in further research the view of what is considered cruel and unusual has been reduced drastically (Berns 31). Americas method of punishments has been reduced from several torturous execution methods to four quick and less painful punishments. They consist of line of execution, gas chamber, electric chair, and the most popular lethal injection (Ways 1-4). The arguments about capital punishment range from biblical to ethical standpoints, but in the end people are still divided. The death penalty should be legalized in all fifty states, to deter from crime, keep repeat offenders off the streets, and alleviate prison costs from the taxpayers.On the other hand, there have been some men and women that have been wrongfully accused and executed for murder. Since the 1900s at least 416 people have been wrongfully executed causing great concern for the accuracy of the death penalty (Death 4). According to an examination of the Death Penalty and Legislature, Henry Schwarzchild calculated that if the courts were to carry out the death penalty for every murder, then we would be executing 400 persons per week (Bedau 366). The concern of the death penalty not only pertains to the amount of deaths that occur, but also the biblical aspect...
