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Thou Shalt Not Kill, nor shall you simply remove a perfectly valid entry without appropriate debate
[[Lethal injection]] is the official method of capital punishment in almost all of the 38 states that have the death penalty. A few states allow for other methods in some circumstances. [[Nebraska]] is the only state of these that does not have lethal injection. [[Electrocution]] is the official method of execution there. Several botched electrocutions in [[Florida]] in the 1990s have effectively put an end to the era of the [[electric chair]], which was the most common means of execution in the United States before 1972. In addition to these two methods of execution, lethal gas, hanging, and shooting have all been used at least twice since 1977. Both firing squads were conducted in [[Utah]], most recently in 1996. The three hangings took place in [[Washington]] and [[Delaware]], most recently Billy Bailey's 1996 hanging in Delaware. The [[gas chamber]], which has been abandoned because it has been found to normally lead to slow, gruesome deaths, has been used in [[California]], [[Arizona]], [[Nevada]], [[North Carolina]] since 1977. Walter LeGrand's 1999 execution in Arizona's gas chamber will almost certainly be the last of this type. The United States has never used the [[guillotine]], which was very popular in [[France]]. The last use of the guillotine in France was in 1977. Thereafter, capital punishment in France was abolished.
[[Lethal injection]] is the official method of capital punishment in almost all of the 38 states that have the death penalty. A few states allow for other methods in some circumstances. [[Nebraska]] is the only state of these that does not have lethal injection. [[Electrocution]] is the official method of execution there. Several botched electrocutions in [[Florida]] in the 1990s have effectively put an end to the era of the [[electric chair]], which was the most common means of execution in the United States before 1972. In addition to these two methods of execution, lethal gas, hanging, and shooting have all been used at least twice since 1977. Both firing squads were conducted in [[Utah]], most recently in 1996. The three hangings took place in [[Washington]] and [[Delaware]], most recently Billy Bailey's 1996 hanging in Delaware. The [[gas chamber]], which has been abandoned because it has been found to normally lead to slow, gruesome deaths, has been used in [[California]], [[Arizona]], [[Nevada]], [[North Carolina]] since 1977. Walter LeGrand's 1999 execution in Arizona's gas chamber will almost certainly be the last of this type. The United States has never used the [[guillotine]], which was very popular in [[France]]. The last use of the guillotine in France was in 1977. Thereafter, capital punishment in France was abolished.
==Philosophical Debate==
While the Biblical references cited above and the biblical phrase 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth' are often invoked in favour of the death penalty, there are those who also point out the relevance of the Commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill". Those who disagree with the death penalty point to the tautological nature of the moral argument wherein a State compels its subjects to not kill, yet retains the power to legally kill for itself. This places the moral authority of the State over that of the Individual, thus the same laws do not apply.
There is also an inherent logical inconsistency in the views of the supporters of the death penalty - traditionally, supporters tend to lean right politically (although this is certainly not always the case), and also tend to:
1. support the rights of the Individual over the rights of the State;
2. support absolutist moral rights over 'societal' rights;
3. support to the right of society not to have to pay taxes for the upkeep of the condemned;
4. support and a tendency to favor the support of the victim.
The logical inconsistencies in these arguments are evident:
1. Support of the moral authority of the State over the Individual is inconsistent
2. The death penalty is consistent with a morally absolutist viewpoint
3. Same inconsistency as 1)
4. Same inconsistency as 1)
Because of this, opponents of the death penalty suggest that without a removal of the blanket ban on killing of all kinds, it is impossible to make a morally logical argument for the death penalty. Put simply, Either All Killing is Legal, or All Killing is Not Legal. It is impossible to make a logically consistent argument that says that All Killing is Not Legal, except when practised by the State.
Whatever the political position, killing another human is [[Homicide]] - the debates occur over whether it is believed the homicide is justified or not.
== See also ==
== See also ==