Both positions have merit and generally, the most appropriate perspective is an intermediate position that recognizes the relevance of both considerations. That perspective influences modern sentencing policies and decisions by incorporating both the nature of offenses and the criminal history of the offender on a case by case basis.

Capital Punishment Issues:

Capital punishment generates intense philosophical conflict of moral issues. One position holds that the death penalty is an appropriate sentence for certain crimes; the other holds that capital punishment is inhumane and uncivilized. The U.S. Supreme Court has established that the death penalty is not inherently cruel, but evidence does exist suggesting that it is often applied unequally by virtue of race, ethnicity, and social class or income (Dershowitz, 2002). Other valid objections include evidence that the most common form (lethal injection) amounts to cruelty when administered improperly and that mistakes may be frequent enough to reconsider the...
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