The death penalty and the clash of moral ideologies"Capital punishment is a term that indicates confused thinking." George Bernard Shaw The "confused thinking" that Shaw speaks of is the thinking that perpetuates the controversy over capital punishment in the United States today. The unworkable concomitance of a theoretical and moral argument with a defined legal application has left all parties involved in this controversy dissatisfied with the final handling of the matter. There are legitimate ethical and empirical considerations that are both for and against the death penalty. The general incompatibility of these considerations makes them irreconcilable. It is in this condition of irreconcilability that the government must initiate and implement its capital punishment policies. This fixed condition led to the need and creation of an agreement between the two sites of this debate, attempting to synthesize the considerations of the two. The controversial issue of capital punishment reignited in the 1970s when, in 1976, the Supreme Court reinstated the practice after a four-year hiatus. The arguments that constitute much of the legal debate on the issue arise from the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The eighth reads: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." 1The final clause of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment explains: "No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws . " 2 The 1976 ruling of Gregg v....... half of the document... sides, regardless of personal belief. The inherent incompatibility of the arguments prevents any solution from meeting the expectations and moral obligations of all parties. This paradox leads to the need for compromise, rather than reconciliation, in death penalty legislation. The status quo of the American legal system allows legislators to weigh the considerations of each side and come to some practical conclusion for the unworkable clash of moral ideologies.1 “Amendment VIII.” Constitution of the United States.2 "Amendment XIV". Constitution of the United States.3 Gregg v. Georgia, 428 US 153 (1976). United States Supreme Court. Pp 168-187.4 "Leviticus". The Soncino Chumash. Pp 760.5 "Capital Punishment 1996". Statistical bulletin of the Office of Justice. December 1997. P. 3.