Complete 6 pages APA formatted article: Death Penalty as an Issue of Controversy and Debate. The supporters of the argument hold that man has no right to take away human life and they purport that capital punishments are inhumane, discriminatory, ineffective and prone to mistakes. On the other hand, advocates of pro capital punishment hold that capital punishment acts as the strongest deterrent against homicides and other heinous offences. Besides, there are many who believe that many innocent lives can be saved by providing death penalty to dreaded criminals. The retributive belief that death penalty is essential to preserve retributive justice whereby murderers get the right punishment they deserve and the utilitarian argument that death penalty deters or is necessary to incapacitate prospective criminals have immensely supported pro capital punishment causes. Similarly, the growing rates of homicides and serious offences prompt one to think in favor of the death penalty. Undoubtedly, capital punishment acts as the strongest deterrent that stands as a warning board to dreaded criminals and as such the punishment is essential to maintain retributive social justice, protect the interests of the common public and to safeguard the lives of innocent people.

The supporters of capital punishment system consider it as the strongest form of deterrence and preserver of judicial retribution. The death penalty, undoubtedly, is a great tool of deterrence in putting an end to serious and cruel criminal activities. The criminals are most likely to indulge in more serious crimes when the judicial system poses no threats to their own lives. The proponents of the death penalty believe that it is a better deterrent than other alternative punishments such as life imprisonment. Ernest van den Haag, a Professor of Jurisprudence at Fordham University, postulates that it would be a failure of the judicial system if dreaded criminals are not punished for the retribution of their crimes.