Americans have been debating the issue of capital punishment for years now. Many people believe it no longer serves its intended purpose of deterring crime. Others believe that the death penalty is an inhumane act of violence and should be banned from the justice system altogether. Even the thought of playing God is another aspect of the situation. Despite these accusations, however, the facts remain. The death penalty deters crime, stops repeat offenders, and gives Americans a real sense that justice has been served and should therefore remain legal and in practice. Despite recent ridicule of capital punishment, the sentence has popular and political support. A poll conducted in 1997 in Time magazine stated that 74% of respondents supported the death penalty (Schonebaum 6). Many of these supporters believe that capital punishment deters crime. Deterrence is the idea that the threat of punishment must be severe enough to counteract the pleasures the criminal would derive from committing the crime (Harries 11). Even if a person infers that capital punishment actually deters crime, they are left wondering whether the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment. The simplest way to consider capital punishment as a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment would be to use common sense. “People fear death more than life in prison” (Schonebaum 8). Once a criminal is sentenced to death, he makes numerous appeals to try to reduce the sentence to life in prison. This would lead a person to believe that they fear the death sentence more than life imprisonment. In general, the thing that people... middle of paper... Total punishment: Give him a chance." October 16, 1998. March 3, 2000. Gow, Haven Bradford. "Not applying the death penalty is cruel, immoral and unjust." Human Events Vol. 52 Number 45 (November 26, 1996): 22.Haag, Ernest van den. "The Death Penalty Can Save Innocent Lives." Schonebaum 53-55.Harries, Keith, and Derral Cheatwood. The geography of execution. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc., 1997. Miller, Amy. "Death Penalty: Right or Wrong?" Junior Scholastic Vol. 15 (March 22, 1999): 6 -8. Schonebaum, Stephen. E. "Introduction." Schonebaum, Stephen E., ed. Does Capital Punishment? Diego, California: Greenhaven Press Inc., 1998 United States Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997.