With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most【C1】______ issue across the United States today is the death penalty. Many argue that it is an effective deterrent(威慑)to murder,【C2】______ others maintain there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The principal argument【C3】______ by those opposed to the death penalty, basically, is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is the mark of a【C4】______ society, and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime anyway. In our opinion, the death penalty is a【C5】______ evil. Throughout recorded history there have always been those extreme individuals in every society who were【C6】______ of terribly violent crimes such as murder. But some are more extreme than others. For example, it is one thing to【C7】______ the life of another in a fit of blind rage, but quite another to coldly plot and【C8】______ the murder of one or more people in the style. of a butcher. Thus, murder,【C9】______ all other crimes, is a matter of relative degree. While it could be argued with some conviction, that the【C10】______ in the first instance should be merely isolated from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type of murderer. 【C1】