The biggest problem facing the reintroduction of the death penalty in South Africa is a simple question of morality. Most argue that it is not moral to take human life, because life is the ultimate gift. However, if human life is the ultimate gift, it should have the ultimate protection. We can therefore conclude that taking a human life is indeed the ultimate crime. In order to deter the ultimate crime, doesn't it make sense to deploy the ultimate protection, the ultimate protection being the death penalty. This raises the question of whether it is morally unjustifiable to take one life to save another or to protect others. ? Generally the answer would be no. The modern form of the death penalty is not a barbaric form of justice system; Various legislations and policies are constantly being introduced to ensure fair sentencing. While minimizing the deaths of innocent people through convictions. For example, in February 1997, the American Bar Association called for a stay of executions until policies could be instituted that ensured that death penalty cases were administered fairly and according to due process. The death penalty is the ultimate form of protection of human life, deterring potential criminals from committing suicide. Ernest Van Den Haag simply states: “A miscarriage of justice does not justify the abolition of the death penalty.” It further states that everyday human activities, such as driving, flying, and war, result in the death of innocent people. However, these activities are not considered morally wrong because their benefits far outweigh their harms. Therefore, the same analogy can be used to justify why capital punishment is moral. Against Death Penalty: The death penalty will...... middle of paper ......au, HA (1992). The case against the death penalty. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from RCN DC Metro: http://users.rcn.com/mwood/deathpen.htmlHaag, EV (1983). For the death penalty. New York Times. Omar, D. (December 11, 1997). SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE, DULLAH OMAR: WHY THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT CANNOT BE REPORTED. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from Government: http://www.gov.za/speeches/1998Oppenheim, S. (2001). Capital punishment in the United States. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from Washington College of Law: http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/spring98/html/death.htmlStevenson, B. (2004). Death penalty. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from ProCon.org: http://deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000 Vanberg, V. (2000). Constitutional and ethical economics. Retrieved April 10, 2014 from publicchoice: http://publicchoice.info/Buchanan/files/vanberg.htm