There are four main reasons for punishment: rehabilitation ( to return someone to a former status), reformation ( to reform or recreate an individual), deterrence ( to deter others or to deter the person punished), and retribution (an eye for an eye). The death penalty is a punishment to a person in which the person is put to death for a very serious crime they have committed, usually when they take another person's life. Our state and federal legislators have created laws that specifically identify which crimes a person commits that can be punishable by the death penalty. …
