DETERRANCE:
One of the most common reason for supporting the death penalty is deterrence, which is a belief that crime can be stopped by the society by making the punishment much more severe than the benefits gained from the criminal act. The death penalty is something which is so harsh and makes potential murderer's think twice or even thrice before taking someone's life as it makes them fear for their own. It is also seen that the death penalty punishment is far more effective than life imprisonment or any other such punishment.
RETRIBUTION:
It is believed by many people that an appropriate response to violent crimes is retribution. The ideology is that the punishment offered must fit the crime committed. For example, in the Christian Bible, in Leviticus 24: 17-20, “And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. And if a man causes a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth ... .” Therefore, support for the death penalty under this ideology is based upon ancient punitive reasons (Bohm, 1987). It means that if a person's life is taken by someone, then his or her own life must be sacrificed. It is also probably one of the most emotional punishments as it is a kind of revenge by the society and the victims family and relieves them from the hurt and anger that was brought to them the violent act. According to the research, retribution, including emotional retribution, is a frequent reason provided by those who support capital punishment (Ellswroth and Gross, 1994; Firment and Geiselman, 1997; Whitehead and Blankenship, 2000; Zeisel and Gallup, 1989).
http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/arguments.PDF
http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Clarke%20Lambert%20-%20Reasons%20for%20Supporting%20and%20Opposing%20Capital.pdf
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