Should the death penalty be legal throughout the United States? Is it human or inhuman? The death penalty is legal in only thirty-eight of the fifty states of the United States. Lethal injection is also the main procedure used. It is the most common form of capital punishment in America. The death penalty by lethal injection should be legal in the United States; the lethal injection process is better than the electric chair and is more humane. In the United States, lethal injection began in 1982 and is legal in thirty-seven of the thirty-eight states that provide the death penalty (Litton 2004). The first state to legalize and use the death penalty was Texas (Romanelli 2011). Some people believe the death penalty is a violation of the Eighth Amendment which states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted.” (United States Constitution. Amendment VIII). In the period 2001-2006, 189 of the 191 executions that occurred were by lethal injection (Litton 2004). The reason some states have chosen lethal injection is because it is cheaper and more humane. The person who is executed is allowed to have family or friends witness his or her death. Visitors are never removed without the advice of the warden (California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation 2013). The lethal injection process is quite short (Litton 2004). When a person is killed by the electric chair they can feel the pain until they die, but when the lethal injection process is used they can't feel it, so it is more humane. Although there are disadvantages, lethal injection is the most ethical and humane solution to capital punishment. Koniaris and colleagues conducted a study that showed that...... half of the paper... ifornia Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation . (2013). Lethal injection procedures. Retrieved from: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/reports_research/lethal_injection.htmlLitton, P. (2004, March 1). Participation of doctors in executions, morality of capital punishment and practical implications of their relationship. Journal of law, medicine and ethics. vol. 41. P333-352. Doi: 10.1111/jlme.12024 Romanelli, F. (2011, August 10). Lethal injection as part of a therapeutic toxicology module. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175686/Witherbee, A. (2011). Crime or punishment? The argument against capital punishment. Points of view: death penalty. P5. Retrieved from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com/pov/deetail?vid=4& sid=ce8a2f46-5131-4398-832a35f87e96da15%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4207&bdata=Jn NpdGU9cG92LWxpdmU%3d#db=pwh&AN=12437715