nt or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb: nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation (Funk & Wagnalls 321 .)"This allusion to having ones life put in jeopardy is an obvious indicator that the constitution did not mean for the death penalty to be included as one of the "cruel and unusual" punishments that capital punishment opponents claim that it is. Surely if the framers of the United States Constitution meant for the death penalty to be considered cruel and unusual, they would never have directly referred to it in the fifth amendment. While the eight amendment has and always will be open to the judgment of the current society, by no means is a direct reference, such as is found in the fifth amendment, up for debate (Winters 37.)While common sense alone is enough for most people to see the morality of the death penalty, its good to have the constitution as a strong reminder of the legality of capital punishment as well. The legal and moral evidence is highly in favor of the death penalty and makes it clear why over 70% of Americans favor it (McCuen 34.)Opponents of the death penalty claim that innocent people have been killed and that this makes the death penalty not worth the risk (McCormick 2.) Though it is certain that in the past people have surely been executed, the risk of mistaken execution is a very small one and no recent mistakes in the execution process have been proven in the last twenty years. Death penalty opponents site the 1987 Bedau and Redelet study which claims that 350 criminal have been falsely accused a capital c...
