One of the issues in your profile.

"-->Capital punishment is not the only way to keep murderers off the streets and protect innocent people. Life imprisonment would be sufficient in doing that and would prevent the killing of the accused. " That's how it already is. So. .. no. " --> The death penalty does not deter others from murdering. Murders are often committed when the criminal is blinded with passion, when emotions prevail over reason. Murderers are sometimes committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or in panic moments, when the culprit is caught in an act that breaks the law (robbing the bank, etc. ) the way to deter people from committing murder is not by increasing the severity of the punishment but by increasing the possibility that the crime will be discovered and the culprit will be caught. ' Okay, that's fine argue with statistics that show that you are wrong. .. like the one I just posted. The death penalty deters 8 murders from occurring. " --> Murder is defined as the killing of one human being by another especially when premeditated (taken from the American Heritage College Dictionary. ) Therefore, the death penalty clearly falls under the definition of murder, and, under no circumstances, is murder acceptable, justifiable, or moral. " Murder, at least in a philosophical sense, is the intentional killing of an innocent, and you brought up a philosophical matter. " --> Indeed, it can. When Copernicus first discovered that the Earth revolved around the sun instead of the other way around, no one believed him. His works on astronomy were discredited for hundreds of years. This was all because the people's judgement was clouded by the church's teachings. Therefore, human judgement can also fail when deciding whether or not the death penalty is just. " Uhh. .. yeah. .. no. The people who rejected Copernicus were uneducated peasants. The Supreme Court is comprised of brilliant men and women. " --> Is the killing of an innocent person a huge deal? Of course it is. Killing, in order to save, is not inevitable. There are other ways of protecting the innocent from criminals such as life imprisonment. " Life imprisonment, a) does not deter as well, and b) it allows criminals to cause more harm, my mother, a psychologist has treated many prison guards who have faced emotional challenges after injuries resulting from prison breaks. " --> I agree that saving innocent lives is very important and should be a priority. However, without capital punishment and with the substitution of life imprisonment, we can save innocent lives as well as reform the lives of criminals. " Except, you're wrong, we can't. That's the status quo I compare capital punishment to. Capital punishment save lives comparative to life imprisonment. " --> Sacrificing lives is not necessary. I have already stated (above) that life imprisonment would save the lives of both innocents and murderers as well as giving the murderers a chance to reform. If it is found that the accused person is innocent, then the accused person could be released. " And I already stated that you're wrong, sacrifice is necessary. Life imprisonment won't deter as well. " --> In the past, crime of passion have gotten the death penalty. Such an example can be found in the execution of Bruce Callins. In 1980, Callins went to a dancing establishment named Norma's Lounge, told the bartender to put the club's receipts in a bag, and ordered the patrons to empty their pockets. Allen Huckleberry, who was sitting at the bar, did not surrender his wallet quickly enough and Callins shot him in the neck, causing him to bleed to death. The murder of Allen Huckleberry was not premeditated. It was based on passion alone. Therefore, my opponent is wrong in his statement that only the worst of murderers get the capital punishment. Capital punishment is not the only solution to preventing more murders. Life imprisonment would also get the job done without killing another life in the process. " I am saying that the death penalty should only be applied to murder 1, and this was a murder 2 case, and should not have been made a capital offense. I only have to affirm capital punishment, I can choose the conditions.