There are a lot of people who think that the death penalty shouldn't be legal anywhere in the United States. They say that killing someone doesn't right the wrong that has been committed against society and/or another individual. They say that executing the offender doesn't allow him a chance to get rehabilitated and become a productive member of society. All of this may be true, but it also prevents the criminal from killing or raping someone again, ever.
At the dawn of the 21st century, the death penalty is considered by most civilized nations as a cruel and inhuman punishment. 30 countries have abolished it since 1990. However, the death penalty continues to be commonly applied in other nations. China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States and Iran are the most prolific executioners in the world. Indeed, the US is one of six countries (including also Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen), which executes people who were under 18 years old at the time they committed their crimes (Death Penalty, 121).
While worldwide documents have restricted and in some cases even banned the death penalty, its request is still not against expected international law. Much debate continues in the US as to whether it constitutes an appropriate punishment, at least to the most dreadful crimes. In recent years, the debate has been further fueled by the use of new technologies, which have shown that a large percentage of people sentenced to death are, indeed, innocent. Ninety-five percent of the crime in the United States is committed by five percent of the population (www.deathpenalty.com) This means that when criminals are rehabilitated and are set free or paroled, that many, if not most, of them will again break the law. If the violent offenders against society such as the first-degree murderers and rapists were executed, then violent crime rates would drop straight into the basement.
I don't think that...