Role of Capital Punishment in Modern Criminal Punishment Capital punishment has long continued to be used as the primary punishment for convicted criminals. However, it has been the subject of controversy in recent years and has been seen as an inhumane mode of punishment in the modern era. This is due to the various legal challenges he faces and the methods used to carry out the punishment, which include the use of the firing squad, lethal injection, and the electric chair, among others. However, those who support capital punishment argue that revenge is the only way to achieve justice, while those against see that it is completely wrong for the state to take the life of a citizen (Neubauer and Fradella 391). Capital punishment hardly plays any role in reforming or rather reducing murders and other cases of violence in the modern world. In fact, most countries in the world have gone ahead and abolished death sentences. The decision to abolish capital punishment may have been due to issues surrounding this system of criminal punishment, including the morality of the punishment and the methods used to carry it out. This has led to questions about whether capital punishment serves a purpose in today's society. The cost of executing prisoners in prisons has been used as one of the reasons to advocate for the end of capital punishment. For example, data from the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) in the United States shows that it is less costly to confine inmates for life than to execute them. Most costs accrue during the trial level. Therefore, many support life imprisonment because it costs taxpayers less than the life sentences they receive. The question of costs has even led to the abolition of the sentences of ...... middle of paper ... sentences for murder should be much more severe than the death sentences in force since they do not serve the purpose for which they were created. Therefore, considering the costs and other legal challenges faced by the capital punishment system, the death penalty has no function for society as a way to reduce murders and cases of violence in our contemporary society. Therefore, it would be correct to conclude that capital punishment does not play a significant role in deterring serious crimes. Further research should be done to find other systems of punishment that are appropriate for capital offenders. Works Cited Marzilli, Alan. Capital punishment. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Print.Neubauer, David W. and Henry F. Fradella. American courts and the criminal justice system. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.