Supporters of the death penalty don't buy the argument that poor people get bad defense attorneys. Supporters, however, believe the Bible authorizes the death penalty, both with Old and New Testament language. Many supporters say the death penalty is necessary to bring some sense of closure to victims' families. A generation ago, many supporters of the death penalty argued that it deterred crime. There is no good evidence to support that view.
Crime statistics show that the murder rate is higher in states with the death penalty.
Still, many think there is deterrent value in the death penalty. Others say death is the only just punishment, that killers should get no better than the brutality they gave. They didn't act in a human way when they murdered somebody. Copyright 1997 Lexington Herald-Leader.