Abolish the death penalty on the grounds that such action violates the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The death penalty is a clear violation of the 8th Amendment, the protection from cruel and unusual punishment. It is cruel because the intentional death of a prisoner is in itself unnecessary, being that the prisoner is incarcerated within the prison and cannot leave. The death penalty is also unusual, as no other country as developed as the U.S. practices the death penalty. Additionally, execution has been shown to be more expensive than life in prison and cause an increase in violent crime after the issuing of the sentence. Therefore, the unnecessary and archaic practice of the death penalty must be abolished from all 50 states.