ABSTRACT
Surely the abolition of the death penalty is a major milestone in the long road up from barbarism. Today more than seventy nations and thirteen of the states have generally abolished the death penalty. The history shows that the death penalty has been unjustly imposed, innocents have been killed by the state, effective rehabilitation has been impaired, judicial administration has suffered, crime has not been deterred. The death penalty is considered by some to be incentive for mentally unstable persons to commit capital crimes. A jury might acquit because of its fear of the death penalty rather than the weight of evidence. There is nothing to indicate that the death penalty is needed to protect prison personnel from murderous assaults by life-termers. The death penalty is inconsistent with the purposes of modern penology. It is a costly substitute for the effort and money needed to develop correctional knowledge and skills.
