Although the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly prohibits “unusual and cruel punishments,” the U.S. Supreme Court, in Louisiana ex rel. Frances v. Resweber ruled that the death penalty is neither cruel nor unusual, and is still in practice (Hartley 1). Even though all other democratic countries have already abolished the death penalty, it remains legal in most states. Currently, thirty-five out of fifty states have the death penalty. The state of Texas “carried out just over a third of all executions in this country” (Death Penalty Progress). The question of whether or not the death penalty should be constitutional has been around for about three decades now, ever since the Supreme Court reaffirmed its acceptance of the use of capital punishment in Gregg v. Georgia in 1976 (Hartley 1) . The arguments for and against the death penalty are strong on both sides, but capital punishment should not be constitutional in a country as civilized and democratic as the United States of America. Many people consider the ultimate punishment to be an essential punishment. of those who do not value human life. There is nevertheless a risk of execution of an innocent person. The case of Cameron Todd Willingham may be just one example. He was sentenced to death for setting fire to and killing his three young children. After spending 12 years on death row, he was executed in Texas in 2004, but later "rigorous scientific analysis has since shown that there was no evidence that the house fire in one-story wood frame building in Corsicana was the result of arson. , as the authorities had claimed” (Herbert 1). Additionally, as the Death Penalty Information Center...... middle of document ......015.http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty /us-death-penalty- facts/death penalty and race “Progress on the death penalty.” Dallas Morning News, The (TX). (December 2013): A14. Internet. December 30, 2015. Enquirer, Cincinnati. “The death penalty is not a good response to crime.” National Coalition for the Abolition of the Death Penalty. July 27, 2012. the web. January 3, 2015. Hartley, Rogen. "Death penalty." In Schultz, David, ed. Encyclopedia of American Law. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. American History Online. Facts about File, Inc. Web. December 30, 2015. Herbert, Bob. “Innocent but dead.” New York Times September 1, 2013: A29(L). InfoTrac Logs. Internet. January 3, 2015. “There is no such thing as “humane” execution. The New York Times December 14, 2014: A30. Internet. January 4, 2015. “Top 10 pros and cons. Should the death penalty be authorized? Death Penalty.ProCon.org. NP, 2014. Web. January 4. 2015.