The death penalty is wrong for a number of reasons. Nearly all people in the world believe that human life is invaluable. Every person on this earth has a right to live, even those who have chosen to murder. Even the worst criminals shouldn't be deprived of the value of their lives. Executing someone violates that right, and goes against our human values. The death penalty is also very hypocritical because it is meant to show that taking a life is wrong. Is the best way to show that killing is wrong to kill someone? Some argue that capital punishment is a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Executions do not have a place in civilized societies such as the United States. It is also unusual, because only a small amount of the people convicted of murder are sentenced to the death penalty. Many people might argue that without the death penalty, criminals have nothing to fear. I however disagree with this idea. When criminals are executed, they are not really punished. They are merely receiving an escape from their living torture. In prison, they have nothing to do but think about their actions for their entire lives. I think that being locked up until the day you die is a much worse punishment for murderers and rapists than a quick escape from this world. They are taught nothing because they are not alive to learn anything from it, and if they do not learn anything from it, is it really worth it?