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Near Reeds Spring, Missouri, a 69-year-old man, the man’s wife, and their 19-year-old paraplegic grandson were walking along a path. All of a sudden a man in camouflage jumps out of the woods and shoots each of them at point-blank range. The man confessed to the murder and was convicted. If this man were to be put to death, it would not deter other criminals from killing. According to James McCloskey, writer of “The Death Penalty: A personal View”, the death penalty is a failure as a deterrent, because those who commit crimes that deserve the death penalty are often so irrational that even the prospect of death doesn’t deter them. The death penalty is an ineffective deterrent, is more expensive than a life sentence, is inhumane, and defies the United States Constitution. Seventy percent of Americans favor the death penalty, according to an October, 2002 Gallup poll. One reason for this is that they believe that by killing a criminal, justice will be served. Granted, retribution can give family and friends of the victim a feeling of satisfaction for what was done to them. Retribution can also give them some closure so that they can put the horror of a crime behind them. For some victims’ families, knowing that