1,188 people were executed in the United States between 1977 and 2009.[1] Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murders.[2] However, capital punishment can also be applied to other crimes such as espionage and treason.[3]When it comes to the death penalty there are many opinions as to why this form of punishment is a good thing. Such opinions include things like: • The death penalty is the last warning against would-be criminals.[4] If a potential criminal knows that the punishment for his actions will be death, then fewer criminals will commit crimes. • The death penalty provides closure for the victim's family.[5] Although the victims themselves are not alive to gain closure from the situation, the execution of the perpetrator brings a feeling of relief in no longer having to think about the ordeal.• The death penalty is the only thing these criminals fear.[ 6 ] The killers have exhausted all appeals to avoid being executed. • The death penalty is not cruel.[7] The forms of execution used are methods in which the brain does not have the ability to feel pain. • The death penalty is the best response to murder.[8] Our justice system tries to fit the punishments to the crime. In the case of murder, why should the offender be given the same punishment as the offender in a serious non-violent crime? Each of these arguments makes a strong case for continuing to apply the death penalty as a punishment. However, for every argument in support of the death penalty there is an equally strong argument in favor of abolishing this punishment, including: • The death penalty teaches criminals nothing.[9] How can we teach a person to learn from the medium of paper his own action, whether when he burns himself, or when he sees a friend burn, or when he watches something catch fire. I think the same kind of logic needs to be applied to the death penalty, I think by making more of an example of those who are convicted of premeditated murder and where the death penalty is imposed, then you need to follow the consequences. People stay on death row sometimes for years and years, now the death penalty is just a threat. For example, if I chose to plot and commit murder I could be sentenced to death, but even with solid evidence against me, I could still remain on death row for the rest of my life. While this may indeed deter many people from committing the crime, it does not deter everyone. I think if we followed the punishment more, we would have a greater deterrent.