prosecution that a federal judge called outrageous and designed to simply achieve another notch on the prosecutor's guns. (Jacoby, 38)Now, there are actually some safeguards guaranteeing protection of those facing the death penalty. The safeguards for convicts are: The defendant can not be insane, and the man's real or criminal intent must be present. Also, minors rarely receive the death penalty because they are not fully mature, not knowing the consequences of their actions. Lastly, the mentally retarded are very seldom executed. The reason for not executing in this case is that they often have difficulty defending themselves in court, such as problems remembering details, locating witnesses, and testifying credibly on their own behalf. These safeguards are to try to insure that justice will be served without having it suffer. In the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testament, the death penalty was required for a numerous range of offenses, both civil and religious. The following is a passage from the King James version of the Bible as Jehovah required the state to execute a person for murder: Genesis 9:6 states: Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man., serving as sufficient proof that if a person had committed a crime, the state imposed the death penalty on the guilty person. They were either stoned to death, impaled or burned alive. Witnesses who testified at the trial would often participate in the killing. Though, to their credit, the courts of ancient Israel required very high levels of proof of criminality before they would order the death penalty. (Horwitz, 36) I believe that there must be a punishment that serves the purpose of teaching a lesson. Personally, I have always believed the death penalty was just, and that it taught the criminal a lesson. But after examining a lot of information, and attending the Panel Discussion, I have come to realize that capital punishment ...
