Capital Punishment: Crime, Punishment, and Belief

How do we square our compassion with our need for justice?

Many believe the death penalty is a necessary crime deterrent – that in order to protect our society the worst criminals must be executed. Others believe capital punishment is nothing more than state-sanctioned murder. But is capital punishment necessary for society? Should the death penalty be abolished? How do our beliefs inform our view of the death penalty? Here Patheos writers explore the arguments for and against to see where our beliefs apply to the big questions about the death penalty.

Recently cases like that of Jodi Arias and Kelly Gissendaner are raising questions about women and the death penalty – refocusing the nation's attention on the capital punishment debate.