The death penalty has always been a controversial topic. Arguments can be made for both sides on whether or not the United States should have the death penalty. In July 1976, the Supreme Court held that "the punishment of death does not invariably violate the Constitution." [1] The states as well as Congress have had constitutionally valid statutory models for death-penalty laws, and more than three dozen state legislatures have enacted death penalty statutes. [1]

The Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is not by itself a violation of the Eight Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, but the Eight Amendment has shaped certain procedural aspects regarding the death penalty. The Eighth Amendment applies to states, as well as the federal government because of the...