This paper deals with two articles, one viewing the death penalty as wrong and one viewing it as right.

In Coretta Scott King's "The Death Penalty Is a Step Back" and Mike Royko's "Death to the Killers," each author presents their individual analysis on the topic of capital punishment. The writers discuss their personal opinions on the issue of the death penalty, while giving several reasons to support their convictions. The authors have dissimilar views on the controversial issue of capital punishment. On one hand, King exclaims: "America took another step backwards towards legitimizing …

…death penalty doesn't deter crime." The author retorts that in most cases criminals do not consider the future consequences when they're committing the crime. In conclusion, the authors of "The Death Penalty Is a Step Back" and "Death to the Killers," utilize personal experiences to sustain their principles about the death penalty. Coretta Scott King and Mike Royko argue two sides of an issue that will continue to be a controversy for years to come.