What the hell does 'reality's format' mean? your words do not form a coherent argument at all. Is English your second language? Or are you from the South, perhaps?

No one questions their right to life. It isn't really about that. It's about whether or not they are receiving an appropriate punishment. I would say a quick execution isn't enough of a punishment for murder! Let them sit behind bars for the rest of their lives.

Execution as a method of deterrence has long since be shown to be false. The are numerous studies that show no link whatsoever between states that use capital punishment and those states that don't. Even when some states have abolished the death penalty the murder rate has decreased.

There is also a train of thought that says that if you had committed the worst crimes, execution is actually more merciful than a life behind bars. Sure, you may experience pain for a few minutes, but compared to a lifetime of imprisonment and the memories of what you have done, I would say you are letting them off too easily!

I would argue the United States has long since ceased to be a force for good in the world. From a succession of poorly thought out wars to the removal of legitimate democratically elected leaders, U.S foreign policy seems to be more about economic profit that global stability.

One of the inevitable bi-products of being the world leader in the free market is that America has to prop up the capitalist system by ensuring war is enduring. From the oil wars in the gulf to the destruction of socialist movements in South America, the U.S has waged a war of attrition on those who oppose it's ideology.

What I think is really sad is that the average American still thinks the United States stands for democracy, freedom and equality. A study by the think tank Ipsos Mori conducted in 2011 found that the United States topped the list of 'threats to global peace', ahead of Al Qaida, Iran, North Korea and the Taliban. The study was the largest of it's kind and sampled demographics from over 80 countries in Europe and worldwide.

The U.S may have done good in the past, specifically the world wars, but I would argue that the bad now outweighs the good. The only country to have ever caused mass-civilian death through the use of Nuclear Weapons, the country with the largest military spending globally, the country which exports more weapons to the rest of the world than the next 5 combined.

Surely, now is the time to recognise the shift in opinion away from the US being a force for good. Recognition is the first step toward change. Please vote against the motion.

@Mariel33. I think you need to read what you've just written, as it makes no sense whatsoever.

Your mentality is that of 'an eye for an eye'. If the same ideas were applied to global wars, they would be never ending. Japan would have launched nuclear weapons on the US following the strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The allied forces would have wiped Germany from the map at the end of world war 2.

Don't forgive murderers, but equally, don't sink to their level of revenge and retribution.

Does America really want to position itself alongside such illustrious company as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, China in being a nation that still thinks that capital punishment is an appropriate measure?

Countless studies have shown that within democracies, the level of support for the death penalty is inversely proportionate to the education of the voters. To me, this speaks volumes about the type of punishment we are seeking, and those people who can see capital punishment for what it really is recognize this; the death penalty is revenge, not punishment.

Taking to one side the issues over the cost of executions, and of the issues with innocents being falsely sentenced to death, let me focus on just one issue... the morality of state approved execution. If one child hits the other, we don't also the injured party to strike back whilst we stand and watch. No more so do we condone a rapist being publicly raped. Perhaps some of you on the pro side think we should? Either way, we must separate what instinctively we feel might be 'justified' and what will be a measured and appropriate.

Finally, I would like to draw the correlation between support for capital punishment and support for military action against other countries. It is my belief that one goes hand-in-hand with the other. If you condone capital punishment, chances are you support the bombing and invasion of foreign countries, as there is a causal link there; "why should we not enact justice upon the countries who harbor terrorists if we execute our own citizens who commit murder' is often the sentiment I hear.

'We need to be better than those who would seek to do us harm'. Winston Churchill, 1938.