Very often the punishment of choice was death and .

             many innocent people were killed in this manner. Our legal system was established in an effort .

             to maintain order and keep the justice system balanced with society's rules. Laws came about .

             because of the many errors in judgment. Throughout history people were killed based on .

             emotions, not facts, and this method was not a fair and just one since there were many variables .

             that played a part in that kind of judgment. The death penalty works as a form of reprisal in an .

             effort to steer or force would-be criminals to recognize the realities associated with their actions, on the other hand it also displays a form of decency and order in the evolution of our society. .

             The death penalty was once suspended but then reinstated in the United States because the .

             government believes it to be an effective tool to use as a form of punishment for what they .

             believe deserving criminals ought to face. During the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance Periods, .

             there was very little change to the use of capital punishment. Many forms of punishment during .

             those specific times were harsh and they inflicted much pain on the supposed victims. The idea .

             was that people accused of committing crimes should not only die, but suffer while dying. Thus, .

             offenders were killed by various unimaginable methods, such as being burned at the stake or .

             being crushed by heavy stones (Flanders, 1991). When Henry VIII was king, over 70,000 .

             executions took place. In 1780, the "bloody code" contained 350 capital crimes, this added to the .

             number of crimes that were punishable by death, nevertheless the number of executions were .

             actually less. By the mid-1800s, there were only four crimes that were punishable by death .

             (Flanders, 1991). One of the reasons given by the naysayers of capital punishment is that there is .

             no real evidence that the threat of capital punishment decreases violent crime (Flanders, 1991).