Paper Summary:

The paper begins by presenting some background and statistics about capital punishment in the USA. The viewpoints of both the proponents and the opponents of capital punishment are listed and problems with the use of capital punishment (such as pardoning leading to further crime, and innocent people being executed) are discussed. The paper explores public support of the death penalty and then turns to discuss the recent Washington DC sniper case and the possibility of capital punishment for the offenders. The controversiality of choice of location for the trial is looked at and the new anti-terrorism law is brought up. The paper concludes with some summation comments on capital punishment.

From the Paper:

"Between 1977 and 2000, 683 inmates have been put to death under the death penalty laws of their state. 519 were by lethal injection, 149 were by electrocution, 11 were by lethal gas, 2 were by firing squad, and 3 were by hanging (Editors 347).

Capital punishment has always been a controversial and emotional issue. In the United States, controversy over capital punishment began as early as Colonial times after American gained her independence from Great Britain. Some people began to wonder if anyone really had the right to take a human life, even the government (Vila and Morris xxv), and the debate has raged on ever since."

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