A phrase commonly used in American society, “An eye for an eye,” is used to represent the ideology of the death penalty in the United States. The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is defined as the punishment of death for a crime. In its simplest form, it is “state-sanctioned murder (Jones).” Recent facts show that as of “April 1, 2010, there are approximately 3,260 individuals” awaiting execution while on death row in the United States (“Death Penalty”). It was reported that, “since 1973 over 130 people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence (“Death Penalty”).” The execution of an innocent citizen, along with the violation of the “cruel and unusual clause” and the high cost of killing an inmate are all plausible reasons why the death penalty should be eradicated. Almost killing or taking away many precious years of life from an innocent individual in prison, to me, is reason enough to eliminate the death penalty. It is disturbing to think that the justice system killed someone's innocent father or held someone's innocent son captive for years and it is a mental burden left on the minds of that individual's unfortunate family. It is probably simply seen as a subtle error on the part of the court because “courts generally do not consider claims of innocence when the defendant is dead. Defense lawyers move on to other cases where clients' lives can still be saved." Although the number of people actually executed and found innocent is only recorded at “23 people in the 20th century”, of the over 1,000 people executed, one can only assume that there are more innocent people killed than have been recorded (Jones). Truth be told, an innocently ex… middle of paper… was murdered. Furthermore, killing an individual because they killed someone else is not what we have been taught to stand for as Americans. Finally, the death penalty is certainly not the best economic solution to deal with our citizens in difficulty. Ultimately, these prisoners end up costing us as taxpaying citizens more dead than alive. I believe that inmates on death row should no longer be subject to the death penalty and should instead be left to face life in prison. Works CitedDeath Penalty Information Center. Network. June 13, 2011.Jones, Eliot. "Capital Punishment: Debatabase - Debate Topics and Debate Motions." IDEA: International Association for Debate Education - Debate Resources and Debate Tools. November 13, 2000. Web. June 13 2011. .