Capital Punishment: The System That Hides Its Worst Mistakes The use of capital punishment is a controversial social issue in the United States. It is currently a legal sentence in thirty-two states and illegal in eighteen (states with and without the death penalty). Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is “the punishment of execution, inflicted on someone lawfully convicted of a capital crime” (Oxford Dictionaries). A death penalty sentence may be imposed due to a capital crime of treason, murder, arson, or rape. The most commonly used methods of capital punishment include lethal injection, delivery, and electrocution. The act of capital punishment is unethical and immoral. Capital punishment is an ineffective method of penalizing criminals and must be abolished from the United States criminal justice system. Capital punishment has existed in the United States since the early 1600s; it was a punishment for breaking the common law. It was applied in the American colonies before the writing of the Declaration of Independence. The first recorded death sentence dates back to 1608, issued to Captain George Kendall, who was executed by firing squad (capital punishment in the United States). In the past, the execution method was extremely gruesome. Death by fire, stoning and crushing are just a few examples of how brutal death sentences can be. The majority of Americans throughout history have always supported the death penalty, but over time the number of Americans who support the death penalty has decreased. No justice system can produce one hundred percent conclusive results. Mistakes can and will be made (Message from the Public Prosecutor). Despite… middle of paper… capital punishment controversy. Capital punishment is a hotly debated topic in the United States and is and will continue to be a controversial social issue. The arguments are valid from any point of view, but the point of view with the greatest number of reasons and well-thought-out arguments is the one against capital punishment. It is flawed in the way it executes innocent people. Unethical and immoral, when not used fairly. This causes some to take discriminatory actions against African Americans and the mentally ill. Capital punishment is expensive and is practically destroying the US economy. Ultimately, this is a violation of our humanitarian rights. We shouldn't resort to such harsh methods of punishment when there are other perfectly good ways to punish those who have done wrong. By abolishing capital punishment we can put an end to a cycle of violence.