Passage Four
With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is the death penalty. Many argue that it is an effective way to stop murder, while others maintain that there is no convincing evidence that death penalty reduces the number of murders.
The main argument by those opposed to the death penalty, basically, is that it is a cruel and inhuamn punishment that is the mark of a brutal society, and finally it is questionable whether it is effective to reduce crime anyway.
The value of the death penalty as a way to reduce crime may be open to debate. But the overwhelming majority of citizens believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is reinforced by evidence which shows that death penalty reduces murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was consistently imposed in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100,000 population. Since 1964 the death lenalty has been imposed only once, and the murder rate has risen to 10.4 murders for each 100,000 population. This sharp increase in the state’s murder rate, which began when executions stopped, is no coincidence. It is convincing evidence that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the bill reestablishing the death penalty is vetoed, innocent people will be murdered—some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is literally a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of innocent people must be protected.

‘Penalty’ means _________ .