It seems that there are nearly as many opinions on the death penalty as there
are people to propose them. There are numerous people that are against the use
of capital punishment. Some take their stand for humanitarian reasons, and
others use it as insurance against executing the wrong person. Many people
simply say that murder is wrong, regardless of who performs the act. The oldest
and most standard argument in favor of the death penalty has historically been
its deterrent effects in helping to prevent further violent crime from
occurring. However, studies have shown this argument to be invalid. It has been
proven that the states that have the highest number of executions also have the
highest rate of capital crime.