... particular interest to the behavioral scientist; those which determine our responses to criminal behavior, criminal motivation, and to criminals themselves. It will take into account such concerns as the history of capital punishment, its deterrent effectiveness, the varying cultural nature of the expression of punitive ness, public opinion versus expert opinion regarding its implementation, its cost effectiveness, its utilitarian impact, fairness of application, and the moral implications of its use. Historical Background The deliberate killing of people for socially inappropriate acts probably has a history as old as humanity, but is known to date back to the era of the Old Testament (Dash, 1997), where it was implemented for almost every crime defined by the Ten Commandments, and is noted in the oldest of accounts from Egypt and Mesopotamia. The death penalty in our present social context is carried out only for premeditated murder, but in early America was the penalty ...

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