Even before the 12th century, when Christians were being fed to lions in the amphitheatres of Europe, capital punishment was a debate; the moral, social and historical aspects of capital punishment are the subject of ongoing debate; and it will remain so until time ceases to exist. A few years ago, a young Iranian woman was disfigured by acid thrown on her by a potential suitor. Her attacker was arrested and on the day of the trial, the judge asked him what punishment he would receive; she told him, throw acid on him like he did to her. The judge granted his request; Is this cruel and unusual punishment? Yes, but sometimes justice requires going beyond the norm. A drug dealer who kills another drug dealer and is sentenced to life in prison receives a fair punishment; but what punishment should an adult man receive who rapes an eight-year-old girl and kills her in the process? Most other countries that have abolished capital punishment have used it as punishment for any crime; In the United States, only criminals who commit murder are sentenced to death. First, capital punishment is presented as an immoral act by those who oppose it. In America, one of the few industrialized countries that still practices capital punishment, some of its crimes are so horrific that you would think they were not committed by other human beings. About two years ago, a child molester asked the judge to sentence him to death because if he were released, he would start harming children again. According to Baird and Rosenbaum, “we punish criminals primarily in order to pay them back, and we execute the worst of them out of moral necessity. We certainly do not intend to rehabilitate them. It would be foolish to think that by punishing them we could thereby deter others”...... middle of document ......ebster.utahbar.org/barjournal/2012/09/the_death_penalty_debating_the.html. Accessed April 24, 2014 “Death in prison for children”. Available at hitp://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprisonweb. Accessed April 24, 2014 Galik, Laura. “America's Ten Deadliest Cities in 2012” Available at http://www.policymic.com/articles/22686/america-s-10-deadliest-cities-2012. Accessed April 23, 2014 Pierce, Glenn., Radelet, Michael. “The Impact of Legally Inappropriate Factors on Death Sentencing for Homicide in California” http://www.deathpenalty.org/downloads/Radelet%20SCU%20lawreview_46sclr001.pdfw eb. Accessed April 23, 2014Politi, Daniel. New York celebrates record homicide rate in 2012 while Chicago struggles with Spike » Available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/29/chicago-homicide-rate-new-york_n_2378073.html Accessed on April 27, 2014