“An eye for an eye leaves us all blind, doesn't it?”. Capital punishment has cost the United States a lot of money. The death penalty can be unjust and can cause the loss of innocent lives. The death penalty should be abolished because it is an ineffective form of punishment. There are unfair trials and many innocent people who have been killed. Putting people to death costs more than sending them to prison for the rest of their lives. Capital punishment does not affect change. Capital punishment is the legal permission to kill someone who has committed a crime. The earliest date that the death penalty began dates back to the 18th century BC, the Hittite Code of the 14th century BC, and the Draconian Code of Athens of the 7th century BC. These codes made the death penalty open to anyone who committed a crime. Some death penalty punishments in the Roman law of the twelve tablets were crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, and burning alive. Britain also used capital punishment for crimes. In the 10th century people were hanged. When King Henry was in power around 72,000 people were executed. Some methods of execution during this period were boiling, burning, and beheading. You could have been executed for marrying a Jew, treason, and failing to confess to a crime. Capital punishment in Britain had influenced America. When Europeans settled in America they brought capital punishment with them. It started spreading from one colony to another. The 1960s brought new obstacles to the legalization of capital punishment. The Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments stated that capital punishment was illegal. In the early 1960's some said the death penalty was cruel and unconstitutional... middle of paper... hurts or perhaps contributes in a positive way (deathpenalty.org). Some people worry about early release. However, states that have used life without parole say it works—for example, in the 25 years that California has used that sentence no person has ever been released from prison. Another alternative could be that people could serve time in prison but also attend programs to help and rehabilitate them. In conclusion, there are several ways to address the death penalty: the way the United States does it today is not effective enough. Sometimes innocent people can be killed based on wrongful convictions without sufficient evidence. Furthermore, it cost taxpayers in several states a lot of money. There is no way to say that capital punishment affects change. All the people killed during this process cannot come back, so there is no way to change the situation.