Death Penalty and Deterrence Man has committed crimes since the beginning of time. The crimes were described as acts against the social and moral norms of society and people. People have learned to deal with these crimes in many different ways. One of the most used forms of dealing with crime is to punish those who commit crimes. There are numerous ways that people have punished those who commit crimes throughout history, from making the criminal pay fines to removing him from the community. However, in modern times, fewer acceptable forms of punishment are used. For very minor crimes, governments can simply require the criminal to pay a small fine or provide a community service in some way. Offenders who commit more serious crimes may be forced to spend months or years in jail or prison. However, for the more serious crime of premeditated murder there is an even greater punishment; the punishment of death. According to Jacquelyn C. Black, since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated, over 821 men and women have been executed in the United States. Capital punishment is one of the most hotly debated issues in politics and criminal justice today. The ability of the government and the justice system to punish a criminal in the most severe way, taking away his ability to live, is an issue that is discussed and evaluated almost every day. However, capital punishment has its roots in history. Ever since man formed societies, he has used capital punishment as a form of punishment for criminals. The United States has also used capital punishment for a long time. Many people think that capital punishment is a very barbaric form of punishment that should be eliminated. They think that no civilized nation should allow such sanctioned brutality. P61According to Ron Fridell, “capital punishment has been abolished throughout Europe and most of Latin America, as well as in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The United States remains the only Western nation where capital punishment is still practiced. Others think that the death penalty is an effective and just way to punish those guilty of the most heinous crimes. This article will attempt to describe the death penalty, its origins, and its role in today's justice system. The purpose of capital punishment is also a debated issue on the subject. Most… half the paper… and homicide rates decrease. Constan p102 says that "other factors that influence the homicide rate are unemployment, the probability of arrest and conviction, the percentage of the population aged between fifteen and twenty-four, per capita financial expenditures on the police force and others factors". He also states that none of these factors appear to influence the crime rate, although none are important enough to completely cause major changes. Endnotes Davis, Michael. Justice in the shadow of death: Rethinking capital and minor punishments. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 1996Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital punishment. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc, 1993. Bedau, Hugo Adam., and Pierce, Chester M. Capital Punishment in the United States. New York: AMS Press, Inc, 1975. Megivern, James J. The Death Penalty: A Historical and Theological Investigation. New York: Paulist Press, 1997. Fridell, Ron. Capital punishment. New York: Benchmark Books, 2004. Costanzo, Mark. Just Vengeance: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty.New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.Goldberg, Steven. “What if the death penalty was a deterrent?” World Wide Web.1989.