The paper focuses n the death penalty as a capital punishment. It reflects personal convictions about the punishment, while acknowledges the views of those in support of it. At the introduction, the paper states the reasons for my opposition, and introduces the whole paper. It then looks at other people who oppose the idea opinions regarding the issue. These controversial issues also act in the defense of my opposition of the death penalty as a capital punishment. It then reviews the reasons why other people support it, providing evidence of its success. Lastly, the paper concludes by providing a brief summary of the paper’s main points, and reaffirms my position on the debate. The Debate about the Death Penalty Introduction Societies use different modes of punishments to deter criminal activities and discourage future offences. Murder is a common and old offence that has continued to persist in societies, with controversial perspectives on punishment. Societies usually have high interests in preventing murder. Consequently, the death penalty might be perceived fair punishment for anyone who kills another human being. Criminologists study the efficiency of the death penalty in deterring murders, and in most of their studies, the results seem inconclusive. This paper is an argumentative essay relaying my opposition against the death penalty, as a means of punishing offenders. As described in the paper, research indicate that the death penalty is an unsuccessful means of deterring crime, because many states without it seem to have lower crime rates. Additionally, people have varied opinions about the morality of the death penalty. Therefore, it would be morally wrong for the state to decide for victims who are against the death penalty to punish their offenders this way. With the above comments, it is important to review controversial issues surrounding the death penalty, as well as look at other people’s views about the subject. The central argument in the paper is that the death penalty is an inappropriate method of punishment. It is arguable that all murder victim desire death penalty against their offenders. People have different religious convictions, personalities, beliefs and attitudes towards Life. Because of this, some people do not wish death penalty upon their offenders. Additionally, research has shown that death penalty not only violates human rights, but also heartens a culture of violence and discriminates against minorities. Those in opposition to the death penalty also argue that it not right for the state to have a right to kill anyone, relating to a denial of human right (Yorke 224). It is also an unfair way to punish anyone because in most cases, it largely depends on the offenders’ ability to raise money to obtain the best lawyers, the offender’s race, the skills of their lawyers and the location of the crime (Flowers, 170).