The argument of capital punishment being “cruel and unusual” has been brought up time and time again. What people fail to notice is that there are different interpretations of “cruel and unusual” punishment. Emotional, psychological, and physical punishment for the convicted can all be interpreted differently. With some execution methods, the physical pain involved is no more painful than going to sleep. Since earlier times, methods of the death penalty have been changed to accommodate for changes in society. No longer are there public hangings in courtyards or a criminal to be shot at the sight of an on-looking crowd. The majority of people do not want to watch an execution. However, with witnesses or certain people somehow involved in a crime, they actually might want to see it. Even when they do, hey want that to be behind closed doors, and that is what there is today. There is hardly any degrading shame brought upon the convicted by the execution itself, only by the wrongs they have committed themselves, and should they not pay the price for that? Should they not be punished for taking the life of another human being as they have done? Over the past 100 years, methods have been fought over, banned, and reinstated, all for the reason that some people do not think that that way of carrying out an execution is …show more content…
No longer is beheading used, and very rarely is death by firing squad, hanging, or even gassing used because it was said to be “cruel and unusual punishment.” Technology today has seen great changes; methods for executing prisoners have been updated and now cause much less physical harm to the criminals. But even though the main method of execution is lethal injection, being the most humane way, other methods could be proven “cruel” when compared to lethal injection. The United States should be able to punish the most heinous criminals using capital punishment. Evidence has shown that it does keep crime rates down. There are many interpretations of “cruel and unusual punishment,” and there is no way to guarantee a “pain free” death. Today 's methods of execution have become more civilized than at any time in recorded history, a just punishment that is justifiably suited for a