Individuals who have committed crimes that are viewed as extremely heinous such as murder, drug trafficking and high treason are usually punished by either capital punishment or life imprisonment. Since the mid 20th century, there has been considerable debate as to which punishment is more appropriate. I believe that capital punishment is the far better option and the following justifies my claim.

Capital punishment is said to have a strong deterrent effect as the fear of death will stop a sizeable amount of potential criminals from committing crimes. For example, when a policeman holds a criminal at gunpoint and tells him to surrender, the criminal will usually comply. Besides that, consider the rape cases in South Africa. Most rapists are more likely to attack children instead of grown women because they fear the lethal consequences of AIDS which the women are more likely to have. This demonstrates that violent criminals are not immune to fear and would respond should capital punishment be more strongly enforced.

My next point is that concerning crimes criminals commit within prison when they kill prison guards and other inmates, and also when they kill innocent citizens upon escape, like Dawud Mu'Min who was serving a 48-year sentence for murder, when he escaped a road work gang and stabbed to death a storekeeper. They finally put him to death in 1994. It clearly shows that incarceration in prison does not put an end to crimes but may be the catalyst for further crimes as an inmate is surrounded with convicted criminals and is trapped in that felonious mindset.

Another flaw is that life imprisonment tends to deteriorate with the passing of time. In 1962, James Moore raped and strangled Pamela Moss. Her parents spared Moore the death penalty on condition that he is sentenced to life imprisonment. Later on due to a change in sentencing laws, James Moore is eligible for parole every two years! Moore should have been executed long ago and Pamela’s parents could have put the whole horrible incident behind them forever. Instead they have a nightmare to deal with biannually.

Next, Capital punishment is often defended on the grounds that society has a moral obligation to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens. Murderers threaten this safety and welfare. Only by putting murderers to death can society ensure zero recidivism. Serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Thug Berham reinforce the point that once a person has crossed that threshold of morality and murders another individual; he or she will be more likely to kill again than a normal individual.

Justice for All estimates that life imprisonment cases will cost $1.2 million - $3.6 million more than equivalent death penalty cases Capital punishment costs reside mainly in appeals costs. Life without parole prisoners get the same appeals and should be considered to bear the same costs, hence the clichéd arguments put forth by abolitionists that assume life imprisonment prisoners don’t have to bear appeal costs is made null and void. Essentially, taxpayers should not have to pay for the three square meals that a convicted criminal gets for the rest of his life.
As a conclusion, I would like to bring to mind that capital punishment is not about revenge, but stands for swift justice and fitting punishment and is appropriate.

I agree, capital punishment is one of the best ways to get rid of murderers (i'm not saying it gets rid of murder (i'm saying it gets rid of the people who commit the crime) a long time ago we may have gotten the wrong person a few times but now we have the technology to rule people out and get the right person. if we let murderers go like this then they will get other people killed. one dead murderer saves another few hundred.

There's no denying what you say is true. The death penalty is being down played because people think its inhumane or no different than the murderers who get the sentencing. But what fear would anyone have with The System if they know for sure that they are only going to get a slap on the wrist and a lifetime stay at a "luxurious" hotel where the food is free and all they have to worry about is what nickname do they use to look intimidating. So by all means, hang them all if that's what is fair to their crime. Only then would there be fear in their hearts and doubt in their minds to commit their acts. Unless of course they're totally suicidal, in which case, there is not a thing that can change their mind.