Should The United States Abolish The Death Penalty?

Is it a cruel punishment to sentence a criminal to death for committing murder? If the victim of the murder were a close relative, would the answer change? Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the act of putting a person guilty of a capital crime to death. Capital punishment is one of the many issues the United States cannot seem to agree on. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, “in America, as of 2014, eighteen states have abolished the death penalty” (qtd. in Issitt). In addition to the United States, taking fifth place, many other countries have not abolished the death penalty, including China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, taking first, second, and third place, respectively, for the number of executions during the 2007 to 2012 time period (Issitt). …show more content…
The purpose of the death penalty is not only to punish those who have committed capital crimes, but also to prevent said crimes from being committed in the first place. If someone takes another’s most basic and important right, the right to live, that right should be taken from him or her. When a person found guilty of a capital crime is not sentenced to death, but rather sentenced to life in prison, he or she may still be a threat to society. Although some may argue that those found guilty of capital crimes should serve their time in prison, many agree that the death penalty, or capital punishment, is a discouragement of crime and the proper execution of