Capital punishment dates back to the 18th century BC. The use and practice of the death penalty was administered in different ways, including crucifixion. This method required the accused to be nailed to a wooden cross for display, so that members of society could witness the execution. Other early methods of capital punishment included decapitating, beating, or burning the accused. During the 1600s, the preferred method of execution in America, on public display, was hanging. Execution methods currently developed in recent decades include death by electric chair, gas chamber, or lethal injection. The death penalty has been used for a variety of reasons ranging from petty crimes to murder and treason. Some forms of capital punishment have been called inhumane, and some states have abolished capital punishment. Death penalty practices have become “more humane”; in addition, a number of states are considering abolishing the death penalty due to costs. The capital punishment process has been an experience of trial and error, punishment is punishment and punishment must fit the crime. Either society pays to keep people alive with no chance of rehabilitation, or it decides to cut its losses and put people to death. Either way, a life is destroyed. Capital punishment must not be abolished, it must be applied. The death penalty is a very controversial issue in many ways. The main argument seems to revolve around religious organizations in our country, and the argument that a human has no right to take the life of another human is a valid one. Inga Floto says: “We can say that human life has such value that we have no right to take it away. But you can also say... middle of paper ...... "The death penalty in America: a cultural and historical analysis." » Supreme Court Debates 7.9 (2004): 259+. Academic research completed. Internet. April 20, 2014. Gudrais, Elizabeth. “The problem of prisons”. Harvard Review. Harvard Magazine, March-April. 2013. Internet. April 19, 2014. “A timeline of events in the David Dawson murder and execution case.” » Billing Gazette. Billings Gazette, August 10, 2006. Web. April 20, 2014. United States. Montana Legislature. Legislative Tax Division. “Costs of the death penalty”. Montana Legislative Branch. Comp. Greg DeWitt. Montana State Department. February 6, 2012. The web. April 19, 2014. van den Haag, Ernest. “The Ultimate Penalty…” National Review 53.11 (2001): 32. Academic Research Completed. Internet. April 19, 2014. “White Paper on Ethical Issues Concerning Capital Punishment.” » World Medical Review 58.3 (2012): 82-87. Academic research completed. Internet. April 20. 2014.