Capital punishment is the legal infliction of death as a penalty for violating criminal law. There has always been a debate to whether or not capital punishment should be abolished. The majority of U.S. states authorize capital punishment for certain violations of criminal law. In 1847, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty. Twelve states, including Michigan, do not have any form of the death penalty.

Federal law provides the death penalty for more than 40 capital crimes such as: treason, different forms of aggravated murder, and large-scale drug-trafficking. According to Encarta, in 1999 all persons under the sentence of death in the U.S. had been convicted of murder. For the first 150 years of U.S. history, the federal government has played a minute role in making the rule toward capital punishment.

There are many opposing viewpoints on the death penalty. Most American adults support the...