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You only have to look as far as national crime statistics to see that the death penalty is no deterrent. The more important issue is that the death penalty is a barbaric exercise in which no civilized society should participate.

According a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (which is readily available on the FBI's Web site), there were almost 17,000 murders and cases of "non-negligent manslaughter" in the United States in 2005. Does that sound like a deterrent?

There are many studies that offer convincing evidence that anger - a major factor in most violent crimes - is most often caused by a sense of having been disrespected; you embarrass or humiliate someone, they lash out, thing get out of control, and someone ends up dead.

The U.S. - which is constantly telling other nations how they should behave - should practice the one behavior that is the linch-pin of a civilized society: respect. If we would treat offenders, even the worst ones, with respect, they might just feel different about society.

That means police officers need to control their tempers and stop beating suspects. It means politicians needs to debate their opponents with respect rather than trying to win the night's sound byte. And pop stars like Lindsay Lohan and Avril Lavigne could even help by not taking such horrible pot shots at one another. Finally, it wouldn't hurt if the media stopped glorifying violence with television programs like "The Shield" and "24" (two programs, incidentally, that I enjoyed until I began to realize the impact they were having on my own personality).

The death penalty only teaches society that we have a right to revenge. And that is not justice.

Learn more about this author, Allen Edwards.
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