In his book, The Law, Federic Bastiat writes, humans have inalienable rights that existed outside of and before government. These rights are life, liberty, and property. The only legitimate purpose of government is to protect these rights. When one person infringes on another s rights, he must be punished. This punishment is of the harshest form, but it is necessary to maintain order.
Studies show that it most definitely is.
In fact, of the fourteen states that have at one time or another abolished the death penalty, murder has increased by seven percent. If the death penalty were in-acted in a swifter manner, it would most likely deter even better. If we fail to execute murderers, and in so doing would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. The death penalty also saves the government money in the long run.