The death penalty strikes a lot of arguments all over the United States for religious reasons and moral beliefs. This paper will cover the hard facts about the death penalty and give you a chance to decide how you feel about it without someone else’s opinion wrapped in-between every single line.

The death penalty is dated as far back as the eighteenth century. The sentences were carried out by drowning, beating to death, burning alive, impalement, and crucifixion. In the tenth century hanging was the go to method of execution in Britain. You could be sentenced to the death penalty for many things including stealing, cutting down a tree, and robbing. The first recorded execution in America is of Captain George Kendall who was believed to be a spy. At this point in American history you could be executed for crimes as stealing grapes. Over the years the death penalty has been discussed in depth and changed many times.

According to deathpenalty.org, putting a person who committed capital murder in prison for life cost three times more that executing that same person. Also the prisoner who is sentenced to death is extremely violent, if the death penalty were to be rid of altogether that prisoner would be among the general population in prison. Prison was not meant for life sentences, the purpose of prison was to hold a person who committed a crime long enough for them to learn their lesson and then reemerge into the community. Putting a person who should be on capital murder in the general population is dangerous for the prisoner who has one day left because all he did was steal something from Wal-Mart. The last reason that I will share from this specific website is it stops the family that was harmed from wanting revenge. It ends the cycle of crime.

So you have the pros of the death penalty, what about the cons? According to the same website many people believe the death penalty is inhumane, that the judge is playing God. They also say that the court sometimes convicts the wrong person. Sense 1943 there have been 140 innocent people on death row. They also argue that the death penalty is not a deterrent 14 states without the death penalty have had crime rates go down. 
You have heard both sides of the argument, now its your turn to decide...are you for or against the death penalty?