Although capital punishment has never been the most pressing issue in our busy daily lives, it still deserves our attention because of what it symbolizes: institutionalized violence. Just as people without cancer or HIV should care about what the government is doing to help find a cure for AIDS and other deadly diseases, we should all pay attention to what our government is doing in our name. Indeed, when a government executes someone, it sends the ill-conceived message that the use of violence against already incarcerated individuals is acceptable. (Bessler, John D.) The death penalty and capital punishment as a whole have existed for centuries, with the first death penalty laws dating back to the Code of King Hammurabi in Babylon and his "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" philosophy in the 18th century BC (Death Penalty Information Center) The death penalty re-emerged with the introduction of the Roman law of the Twelve Tables, and continued to travel around the world, proliferating in size, until it reached most of the civilized areas of the world . used some form of the death penalty in their justice systems. In the early days, executions were not only commonplace, but were so widely accepted that they were often seen as a form of entertainment, as public executions grew in popularity. Well into the nineteenth century, execution crowds were even larger than crowds gathered for any other purpose. The situation changed in 1834 when the Quaker state, Pennsylvania, organized the first private hanging, imposing on the state that all executions had to be carried out in prison yards with the presence of 12 witnesses, at least one doctor and an attorney general, leading to regulations at the national level that created for a more systematic approach to... middle of the document... but we are indisputably still improving our system and admit our shortcomings and lack of perfection. Over one hundred and thirty people were released from death row after new evidence led to the realization of their innocence, this would be one hundred and thirty wrongful deaths. There is a possibility that perhaps the discussion is not about capital punishment as a whole, but rather whether or not we should rely on a system that is not entirely accurate for killing. Regardless of whether the basis of executions is actually valid, it is time to take a stand against the barbaric practice of executing members of society, no matter how heinous their crime. Abolishing this institutionalized murder can only lead to progress in our nation and the world as we seek to add humility to a government that so desperately needs it..