Capital punishment dates back to the 18th century BC in the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. Under this code twenty-five crimes, excluding murder, were punishable by death. According to historical data, the first death penalty was imposed on a criminal accused of magic in Egypt in the 16th century BC (Regio, 1997). Unfortunately, in some countries the death penalty is still practiced. For example, in Egypt, on March 24, 2014, the Minya Criminal Court sentenced 529 followers of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to death for their participation in the violence (Amnesty International, 2014). Nowadays, the United States also practices capital punishment. According to the DPIC fact sheet (2014), 20 criminals from different states have been executed in the United States this year. It is frustrating that in the 21st century we still hear about execution cases and new death sentences. Today we must abandon this form of punishment. The death penalty should be abolished in the United States because it does not decrease crime rates, it is immoral and it is against justice. Those who support the death penalty say it is an effective way to prevent the commission of crime. According to Van den Haag (1983) the death penalty is the best way to discourage murder because death is what horrifies people most. He believes that there is no other way, even life imprisonment cannot deter murder at the level of the death penalty, and further argues that to prevent future murders it is better to sentence murderers to death. However, those who oppose the death penalty firmly believe that the death penalty is not an effective way to decrease crime rates. American Civil Liberties Union (2007) argues that long-term imprisonment is not inferior to the death penalty… middle of paper… and guilty than if you are poorer and innocent” (as cited in Bedau and Cassell, 2004 ). Therefore, the poor are more likely to be sentenced to death and some of them may be innocent, and the terrifying consequence is that once the death penalty is imposed it can never be revoked. No one can guarantee that there will not be the possibility of discovering evidence that could exonerate an innocent person but since the death penalty is an irreversible process, an executed person will no longer be able to benefit from new evidence. Therefore, the death penalty should be abolished and life, which is the most precious thing a person can have, should not be endangered by such punishment and an innocent life should not suffer in place of a real criminal. The death penalty should be abolished and should never be a punishment option. Committing murders isn't getting justice, it's getting revenge.