Should the death penalty be abolished? The death penalty does one thing: it "kills." It temporarily takes away the pain of losing someone, but ultimately it doesn't bring back the person you loved. The death penalty is considered one of the cruelest and most unusual punishments for sentencing criminals. I don't believe the death penalty should exist, even when the most heinous crimes have been committed. The death penalty will always be a debated topic because no one should have the right to decide who lives or dies. I find it strange that we live in a society where we value life, but at the same time have no problem taking a life. Part I: Thesis From a Christian point of view it is our moral duty to follow the commandment “thou shalt not kill” established by God, therefore known as divine command theory (Moore and Parker, 2006). The death penalty has been shown to discriminate against the poor, based on race and social class, and is used as a form of sentencing to prevent fewer crimes. The end result is that the death penalty doesn't always work. There are chances that lack of proper investigation could lead to innocent people being wrongly prosecuted and executed through the death penalty process. The death penalty has become increasingly focused on revenge and cost-effective measures, even though it can take years for an execution to be carried out. In public opinion, most people prefer life imprisonment without parole as an alternative to the death penalty. In my opinion, every individual deserves a second chance at life, and should have the opportunity to reform and become a productive member of society, therefore the death penalty should be abolished based on the evidence that criminal justice... half of document……June 12, 2010, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penaltyThe Death Penalty In 2009: Year End report (2009, December). Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/2009YearEndReport.pdfMauer, M., & King, R. S. (2004, January). Schools and prisons: fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_brownvboard.pdf Kansal, T. (2005). Racial disparities in sentencing: A review of the literature. In M. Mauer (ed.). Washington: The Sentencing Project. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/index.cfm?ID=0&MODE=view&start=0Bell, D. (2004, October 31). Black on black violence. Retrieved June 12, 2010, from http://www.safetyandjustice.org/node/260Pojman, L. (1999) Merit, Journal of Social Philosophy, 30(1), 83-102.