- - The Death Penalty by Juan Brenes         An eye for an eye, a life for a life? Does this philosophy hold true in the twentieth century? Is the death penalty a 'Cruel and Unusual' punishment or is it now a necessary tool in the war on crime? With the increase in crime and violence in our society due not only to gang and drug activities, but also psychotic murderers, our criminal justice system must decide …showed first 75 words of 1066 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1066 total…place (The Death Penalty, 1987). These findings provoked much controversy.         With the low deterrence of and high cost of capital punishment our criminal justice system must make their decision on whether or not to continue with what some call cruel and unusual punishment. Also, considering the obvious discriminatory data, this system must have a major overhaul. In my opinion the death penalty is a costly ineffective punishment for serious crimes as I have given examples above.