The Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment Since the mid-1900s, capital punishment has caused many individuals to adopt very diverse views over years. Capital punishment is a way of punishing a convict by killing him for the crime he committed. Capital punishment will always have its advantages and disadvantages. Some opponents absolutely disagree with capital punishment. And then there are advocates who support the idea. In the view of its supporters, capital punishment is a way to minimize the threat facing the world today. From the opponents' point of view, opponents do not agree with capital punishment because of the high expense it causes for states. Additionally, opponents argue that capital punishment should not be permitted because innocent convicts are put to death. Supporters believe capital punishment helps keep crime rates low. They believe that once a criminal commits a crime, he is bound to commit another crime in the near future. Many convicted murderers usually have previous arrests and/or committed previous crimes. This has been proven when states that do not have capital punishment laws have placed convicts in prison for ten to twenty years and let them go free after their sentences were completed. But once released from prison, they risk committing a similar crime again and will be sent back to prison for an additional ten years. For example, New York is a state that does not have a capital punishment law, and when convicts go free, they commit the same crimes again. New York is proven to have one of the highest crime rates in the United States and it continues to rise. Therefore, advocates believe... middle of paper ...... that it would be good for the government to have capital punishment laws so that it can help protect its citizens so that these criminals do not return not in the public and do not commit the crime. the same crimes again. Also so that it can help keep crime rates low and hopefully continue to decrease over the years. Opponents say capital punishment laws are unnecessary and should not remain in place. They don't like spending millions of dollars a year executing their own citizens. Therefore, opponents find it shameful that citizens of other countries come to witness the executions of Americans, because it shows that Americans do not value human life enough or are not moral. It is also unfortunate that there are many innocent inmates on death row who are forced to plead guilty or await their death sentence. Capital punishment will continue to have its good value and that's stupid.