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is capitol punishment a crime deterant

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is capitol punishment a crime deterant
Nicholas Hall
Professor Dunn
English 101
06 October 2013

Is capitol punishment a deterrent to crime? Since biblical times until present day capitol punishment has been a questionable issue, Ranging from religious beliefs to racial discrimination. The earliest form of capitol punishment came in the biblical time, when they would use stoning, burning and by sword depending on what offense had been committed. Exodus 21:12 states “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death”. Popular belief is that the death penalty is not a successful crime deterrent and that life imprisonment is. But if given the choice to be put to death or to have life imprisonment why do so many criminals today choose to spend the rest of their life in prison?. Possibly it is from a fear of dying which we all have. If a criminal is going to commit a crime knowing that the results of his/her actions could and most likely will be the death penalty instead of life imprisonment is that not a good crime deterrent? If capitol punishment is not a deterrent then why do so many criminals appeal their cases time and time again. Los Angeles Times (Pre-1997 Full text) The Harris case testifies to the wisdom of the death penalty: It deters murder more than the threat of life imprisonment. If it did not, neither Harris nor the estimated 2,200 others on death row in this country would be so tirelessly challenging their sentences. (Fein, Bruce; Meese, Edwin, Para. 2). To fight and deter crime effectively individuals must have every tool the government can afford them, including the death penalty. If criminals are sure that the ultimate punishment will not be carried out, this allows unacceptable levels of violence to permeate in the
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