Michael Scaljon

The death penalty is a constitutional and evenhanded form of punishment, contends Michael Scaljon in the following viewpoint. Rather than being “cruel and unusual,” capital punishment actually treats murderers with more kindness and dignity than their victims receive. To stop executing those who have committed brutal crimes would put society at risk, the author concludes. At the time this viewpoint was written, Scaljon was a student majoring in government at the University of Texas in Austin.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Scaljon, what was the last year when more blacks than whites were executed"
2. What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in Furman vs. the State of Georgia, according to the author"
3. What is lex talionis, according to Scaljon"

The state of Texas executes dozens of...