individual's rights and freedoms. Everyone has a natural fear of death.It is logical to think that the death penalty would discourage murder. In an article from the American Journal of Sociology, David Philips says, "(1) Psychological experiments show that people are often deterred from exhibiting aggression when they see someone else punished for it (2) thereis anecdotal evidence that some criminals may have been deterred by the threat of capital punishment." A further illustration makes the point even more clear. I think if someone murdered someone else and as soon as the victim died, the murderer died as well, the murder rate would be a fraction of what it is today. Only those killers willing to lose their life would commit the crime. In the same way, the death penalty can dissuade murderif used with the proper frequency and speed. Governments were formed, according to John Locke, to protect the right to life, the right to freedom,(liberty) and the right to property. (pursuit of happiness).These rights were absolute, belonging to all the people. But Locke argued that a person surrenders his/her rights when committing even minor crimes. Once rights are forfeited, Locke justifies punishment for two reasons: (1) criminals deserve punishment, and, (2) punishment is needed to protect our society by deterring crime through example. Thus, society may punish the criminalany way it deems necessary so to set an example for other would-be criminals. This punishment includes taking away his/her life. What separates crime from punishment, good from evil are not their physical aspects but rather their moral aspects. Moral aspects examine the reasons andmotivations behind one's actions. People against capital punishment tend to focus on the death penalty's physical aspects to demonstrate that it is the same as murder, while completely ignoring the moral aspects involved, therefore, demonstrating their own total lack of moral consistency....
