Beginning of Essay
Capital punishment is the legal infliction the death penalty. It is obviously the most severe form of criminal punishment. (Bedau1) Capital punishment is a controversial way of dealing with violent criminals. The main alternative to the death penalty is life in p ....

Middle of Essay
.... One example of the death penalty in the bible is "Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death." (Exodus 21:12). The bible also suggests stoning a woman if she unmarried sex and had "wrought folly on Israel by playing the harlot in her father's house" (Deuteronomy 22:21) England recognized seven major crimes that called for execution by the end of the 15th century. These crimes were: murder, theft (by deceitfully taking someone goods), burglary, rape, and arson. As time went by more and more crimes were believed to deserve the death penalty and by 1800 more than 200 crimes were recognized as punishable by death. (Bedau2) It was not long ....