Capital Punishment: The Correct Alternative Today there is a big controversy about capital punishment whether or not it works or whether it is morally right. Before moving to capital punishment, in America, it is only used in criminal cases such as murder or a theft crime, where an involuntary killing occurred due to a robbery. Those in favor of the death penalty say that criminals deserve it and that it is the only way to achieve justice. People who oppose the death penalty say it is immoral, that no person should be sentenced to death, that it has no place in a civilized society, and that because the death penalty cannot be based on racial prejudice, it should be banned . Capital punishment is justified in several ways. First, it strongly discourages violent crimes such as murder and rape. Many murderers today do not serve most, if not half, of their sentences due to early parole or overcrowded prisons. If a murderer is sentenced to life in prison, not only does it cost taxpayers money but his life in prison is often better than what some citizens experience every day. These first two facts encourage crime rather than hinder it. Furthermore, a person who commits murder deserves a punishment appropriate to the crime committed. Premeditated murder, being the vilest crime committed, requires the only adequate punishment: death. I am only referring to murderers who receive the death penalty, and not necessarily to other crimes such as rape or fraud. There are currently thirty-seven states in which the death penalty is in force. The military also provides for the death penalty. Other states, most of them in the Midwest and Northeast, have abolished it. The only two states to have never applied the death penalty... middle of paper... a way that gives society the message that it is living in a just world. Furthermore, the death penalty has no racial bias, it's just that more minorities are executed than Caucasians, because more minorities commit more crimes. If capital punishment were abolished, we would not have an effective justice system and crimes against innocent citizens would continue. This is why capital punishment is needed and needed in America. Works Cited1. "The death penalty". 03/01/95 (recovered date).2. Hugo Adam Bedau. "The case against the death penalty.". July 1992.3. "Double justice: race and the death penalty.". 03/01/95 (recovered date).4. "Slaughterhouse justice." Village Voice October 11, 1994: 23-24.5. "Protections that guarantee the protection of the rights of those who risk the death penalty.". 03/01/95 (date recovered).