The quality which distinguishes a vital and functional being from a corpse is called life. As a people, we have a right to life here on earth. No human being should take the life of another human being. Whether by law or by a heinous crime, killing remains immoral. Some countries have legalized the death penalty as punishment for crimes committed, but how can it be effective? Killing is not justice! The justice system may call it capital punishment, but how can one be punished if they are dead? The death penalty will not reduce the crime rate. America as well as all other countries will still experience murders, rapes, robberies, kidnappings, etc. No country is free from crime, so the death penalty is not effective. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is premeditated murder committed by the government. . “Capital punishment was widely applied in ancient times all over the world” (Death Penalty, 2009, para. 2). “In 1972, the United States Supreme Court struck down state death penalty laws, a ruling that also ended federal executions. In 1976, the court reinstated the death penalty after adopting new procedures” (Death Penalty, 2009, para. 3). Capital punishment has been one of the most controversial topics in the United States for years. Some people see it as cruel and unusual punishment, while others see it as a means of justice. The methods used to execute death row inmates have evolved over time. States have used methods such as hanging, firing squads, gas chambers, electrocution, and lethal injection. People are killed in front of the public and in front of the victim's family, but also in front of the accused's family. Most of the methods listed above are not time-consuming...... middle of paper ......lies Union (ACLU). Retrieved February 21, 2012 from http://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/mental-illness-and-death-penalty-0Menzie, N. (nd). Troy Davis story: Death row inmate releases statement hours before death. North America. Retrieved February 21, 2012 from http://www.christianpost.com/news/troy-davis-story-death-row-inmate-issues-statement-hours-before-death-56138/Ornellas, L. (nd). Arguments about the death penalty. Pro-death penalty.com. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/ornellaspaper.htmRace and the death penalty. (February 14, 2011). Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved February 22, 2012 from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-death-penaltyShould the death penalty be banned as a form of punishment? (nd). BalancedPolitics.org. Retrieved February 21, 2012 from http://www.balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm