The death penalty, a constant source of controversy and conflicting opinions, is the punishment of death inflicted on criminals who commit serious crimes. Since the severity of crimes that carry the death penalty is questionable, so are its fairness and effectiveness. The justice system is based on punishment for crimes committed, with an emphasis on punishment suited to the crime. Countries such as China and Singapore have used it to punish drug traffickers and thus fueled the debate over how appropriate the punishment is in these cases. For all it aims to achieve, the death penalty has well-documented weaknesses, not least its brutality and finality, and it is these weaknesses that lead to calls for its abolition. The death penalty is inhumane, incorrectly applied and completely unjustifiable regardless of the crime committed. Life imprisonment without parole or pardon achieves everything the death penalty seeks to achieve without causing society to lose its moral standing. The human right to life is sacred and the Constitution protects this right. Isn't it ironic that the justice system based on the Constitution should then seek to end life? Those in support of the death penalty might argue that when a person takes their own life, they lose their right to life. This argument would be wrong because the justice system would do the same thing as it punishes the criminal. It is also brutal, and as Albert Camus stated, “An execution is not simply death. For there to be equivalence, the death penalty should punish a criminal who has warned his victim of the date on which he will inflict a horrible death and who, from that moment on, has confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not encountered in private... in the middle of paper... more consistent with the moral values ​​that society should aim to uphold, and revenge is not one of them. Life imprisonment without parole is one such punishment. Works Cited “Debate on Capital Punishment.” Debate on capital punishment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. December 16, 2011. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. December 18, 2011. “Death Penalty Topics and Internet Resources.” Topics and resources on the death penalty. June 25, 2003. North Carolina Wesleyan College. December 18, 2011 < http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mstevens/410/410lect26.htm/>.Messerli, Joe. “Should the death penalty be banned as a form of punishment?” BalancedPolitics.org – Death Penalty (Pros and Cons, Arguments for and Against, Advantages and Disadvantages). November 19, 2011. December 18, 2011 .