However, the state gives the killer food and shelter, access to a lawyer, the right to a fair trial, the right to call evidence, the right to appeal a verdict and a humane execution. If a person commits a crime knowing that the crime carries a particular punishment then they do not have a right to complain about the sentence. In 1961 the murder rate was 1.3 per 100,000. Between 1962 and 1976, when capital punishment was still law but not used, the murder rate was 2.81 per 100,000. In 1992, after capital punishment was abolished, the murder rate was 2.7 per 100,000.
Capital punishment is a self-inflicted wound.
It is the only punishment that can reflect a society's abhorrence of the crime. It is illogical to prove that murder is wrong by murdering someone. Their have been no sound studies done that show that capital punishment has any deterrent effect. Murders do not think about getting caught and therefore do not think of the potential consequences of those actions. Juries are more likely to convict if the sentence is not death .