Every day we hear another story of yet another savage rape, another violent murder, another torturous child molestation. Far too often the same criminals are repeating the same crimes again and again, while the acts are becoming more brutal and vicious. Insanely, even though we know these inhuman predators will repeat their acts, we continue to turn them back out into society. Clearly, these criminals are beyond the reach of any help that can possibly be offered them, and by returning them to society we are literally signing another innocent person's death warrant or condemning an innocent life to physical and mental suffering. The death penalty is the only means to end this travesty of justice.
Numerous arguments exist in opposition to the death penalty.
One more frequently used claims that it is not a deterrent to other criminals committing the same crimes. Whether he is black or white, rich or poor, genius or mentally incompetent, if he has committed such an act before, the chances are he will do so again, when given the opportunity. He must not get that chance. We cannot allow ourselves to take the position that these offenders are just ordinary, rational, thinking human beings. Granted, some of these criminals have had violent and abusive backgrounds themselves, but our rehabilitation efforts should have been directed at these people while there was still a chance it would do some good, many years before it got to this point, before yet another life was destroyed.