).A punishment can only be called a deterrent if it is performed consistantly and promptly. There are three reasons why capital punishment cannot be performed with any consistancy or promptness.1) The number of convicted murderers sentenced to death are small, and of that number, an even smaller number are actually executed2)Manditory death sentences are unconstitutional (Woodson v. North Carolina, 1976).3)A considerable time between the imposition of the death sentence and the actual execution is unavoidable.If a person is going to premeditate a capital crime, he/she is not going to be concerned with the punishment he/she will recieve. Instead, they are actually concentrating on how they will commit the crime. Even after that they are not thinking of the 3consequences, they now are thinking of how they will evade detection and capture by the police. The severest of punishments will not deter these criminals.If a capital crime is commited in the heat of the moment, when most capital crimes actually are, the criminal is not thinking correctly, he/she can not actually contemplate what will happen as a result of commiting the crime. Every human being on this planet has a breaking point, and everyone is capable of murder. When someone reaches that point there is no punishment capable of deterring them.Some capital crimes are commited as a result of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The criminals who commit these capital crimes are obviously not in a right frame of mind and should not be executed. This is not to say they shouldn't be held accountable for their actions, this is merely saying they do not deserve to lose their own life. They may not even be conscious of the action they are committing, so how could they possibly consider the consequences?There are also other, underlying, situations when capital crimes are commited. Here are a few:Mentally ill individuals who have little or no regard for the consequence of their act...
