Do you believe that capital punishment is an appropriate punishment for an American citizen? Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the formal, legal killing of someone as punishment for a crime. Americans ask several questions about whether killing someone for a crime is considered constitutional. Capital punishment goes against the Eighth Amendment which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” and these are many reasons why it should be abolished. I found countless reasons why the death penalty should be abolished, such as the high cost taxpayers pay for an execution, the innocence of people on death row, and the lack of evidence in criminal cases. Overall, these factors contribute to why the death penalty should be abolished. In the early 1800s, societies sentenced anyone who committed a crime to death as punishment. In today's society the act of death as punishment is still in force. Capital punishment is the practice by which a convicted person is punished for committing a crime so heinous that it must be punished by death. The word "capital" derives from the Latin root "capitalis", which means "of the head", indicating a method of execution common in Roman times. Crimes considered punishable by death range from rape, murder, treason, mutiny and theft. But are these crimes so terrible that the government would be forced to take that person's life? Does capital punishment really solve anything? These are questions many Americans ask themselves daily, and many think the death penalty should be abolished. In my case, capital punishment should be stopped. The execution does not comply with the 8th Amendment which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and in some forms of death penalty ca...... middle of paper...... capital punishment is unconstitutional and inhumane, as the 8th Amendment can interfere with the decision of any case. The Eighth Amendment is an extremely important factor in most criminal cases, in addition to evidence and witnesses. As has been mentioned, there are numerous reasons why the death penalty should be abolished. It is very expensive and the money spent can be used to solve the problems of today's society. The justice system has a lot to work on as far as getting adequate evidence and making sure we don't put an innocent man on death row. By eliminating capital punishment, people sentenced to life without parole will actually understand that committing a crime doesn't send anyone to a happy place. Who wants to stay asleep for the rest of their life? Let's take a stand and eliminate capital punishment as an option.