death penalty

The death penalty is a controversial topic in the United States
today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty is currently
legal in 38 states and two federal jurisdictions (Winters 97). The death
penalty statutes were overturned and then reinstated in the United States
during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness (Flanders 50).
The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions
has increased during the 1990's (Winters 103-107). There are a number of
arguments in favor of the death penalty. Many death penalty proponents feel
that the death penalty reduces crime because it deters people from
committing murder if they know that they will receive the death penalty if
they are caught. Others in favor of the ...