ABSTRACT
Harsh punishments—based on lex talionis—have been acceptable since the dawning of the American Era. Whereas the process of abortion has gone from being a private affair to something more public, capital punishment has traveled a reverse course. Several methods are used to execute condemned inmates, but since 1983 over 85 percent of executions have been by lethal injection. John Henry was found guilty of second-degree murder and received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. For "Carolyn", the murder of "Sue" as also "the hardest thing you'd ever go through. Tag's grandfather, a Baptist minister, apologized profusely to Carolyn and said he would pray for her family every day for the rest of his life. "Bubba" learned quickly that the act of murder makes people question the whole family. Death row inmates receive an initial orientation within twenty-four hours of placement in the institution.
