According the Webster's Dictionary capital punishment is defined as, "the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a crime". Amnesty International claims that there were 3,797 of these "judicial" executions worldwide in 2004. Although the majority of American's believe that capital punishment is an effective method of criminal deterrence, upon closer inspection we find that the death penalty actually causes much more negative effects on society than positive ones.
American's were asked, "Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?" and a resounding 71 percent of American's responded that they were in favor (Gallup Poll 2004).This opinion with regards to the death penalty is not a new one either, the majority of America has been in favor of the death penalty for the past 50 years. One of the most common reasons why executions are said to be beneficial is that they are preventative and provide deterrence for future criminals. Indeed......
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