Reserved today for the most serious crimes [notably murder and treason], the death penalty [or its analogue to capital punishment] is execution judicially ordered of a prisoner as punishment for a “capital” crime (definitions vary from state to state). The brutal killing of a citizen by the state dates back to ancient times. In fact, from an objective point of view, the Gospel account of the trial and subsequent crucifixion of Christ more than two thousand (2000) years ago can be considered a classic death penalty process. As a result, he was taken before the authorities; later arrested; resulted in an indictment; He remained silent in the face of the accusations; He was then tried; sentenced; sentenced to death; and ultimately saw his appeal for forgiveness rejected by two sovereigns even though there was no conclusive evidence to convict him so - apart from the crowds calling for his head. Today, the death penalty persists and remains a controversial, polarizing and emotionally charged subject, rich in passionate convictions on the part of retentionists and abolitionists: it is riddled with morally compelling arguments on both sides of the fence. It was already in 1830 that the Marquis de Lafayette vehemently declared: “I will demand the abolition of the death penalty until the infallibility of human judgment is demonstrated to me.” For what ? The following quote from Justice Stewart sums it up perfectly: [T]he death penalty differs from any other form of criminal sanction, not in degree but in kind. It treats all condemned persons...not as isolated human beings, but as members of a faceless and undifferentiated mass...subject to the indiscriminate application of the death penalty. Death, in its finality, differs more from life imprisonment...... middle of document ...... the community has overwhelmingly accepted the position that the application of the death penalty amounts to cruel and inhumane treatment or punishment. For what? Not only does the State, with all its moral virtues, have time to change its mind, but civilized society is capable of preparing, premeditating and actually participating in the death of human beings. In doing so, depriving the recipient of any dignity and self-respect they deserve as a human being, coupled with the ultimate effect of "[enhancing] the value of human life." By having the State authorize executions, the State disregards the very fundamental concepts of the right to life and dignity of the individual and, therefore, the very respect of the human rights of the individual (a concept introduced worldwide by most modern governments). democracies).