In highlighting the issue of capital punishment, Henry Ford stated that “capital punishment is fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime, just as charity is fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime” . poverty” (“Henry Ford”). His comment, while not saying that capital punishment and charity don't have the right idea about how to address the problems facing societies, does say that they don't adequately address the problem so that it can be completely solved. Although presented as the solution to prevent those who think from committing serious crimes, this does not appear to be true at all. Capital punishment does not deter or solve the problems it is supposed to address and instead creates others. This article will review a brief history of capital punishment, the current state of capital punishment in the United States, and what's next. According to Michael Kronenwetter, punishment of any kind arises from the fact that “[. ..] [t]here must be a punishment for the illicit act”. Before governments assumed the administrative role, people were expected to “[...] take revenge on those who had harmed them. If a man robbed or killed another person, or raped a woman, it was up to the victim or his family to exact a price from the transgressor.” This created major problems as it left those who were weak in power at the mercy of the strong. False accusations could go unchecked, and those who could not adequately defend themselves would be unfairly punished. Death was used as a punishment for crimes that were “applied […] sparingly and only for the most terrible crimes. Others imposed it for minor crimes” such as for example according to the Roman Law of the Twelve Tables the death penalty was for publis...... middle of paper ......se.: ABC-CLIO. (Original work published 1993)Laurence, J. (1960). A history of capital punishment. New York: Citadel Press. McGuire, E. (2010, May 15). Capital punishment: the ugly truth. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/280643763?accountid=28518Murder. (20 August 2012). FBI. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-us/2011/crime-in-the-us-2011/violent-crime/murderReggio, MH (2012). History of the death penalty. Frontline, 0. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/history.htmlWaltenburg, E. N. (2008). The future of the American death penalty: An agenda for the next generation of capital punishment research. Justice System Journal, 29(3), 447-X. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194778726?accountid=28518