Capital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The Babylonian Hammurabi Code(ca. 1700 B.C.) decreed death for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer(Flanders 3). Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites(Flanders 3). However, in recent times opponents have shown the death penalty to be racist, barbaric, and in violation with the United States Constitution as "...cruel and …showed first 75 words of 1361 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1361 total…capital trial now costs millions of dollars. The enormous volume of continuing appeals strain both federal and state court systems. Unless workable solutions are found to the practical difficulties involved in the administration of the death penalty. American society eventually may decide to significantly restrict or even abandon capital punishment. --- Works Cited Flanders, Stephen A. Capital Punishment. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1991. Long, Robert Emmet. Criminal Sentencing. New York, NY: H.W. Company, 1995.