Capital Punishment The theory "a life for a life" is "as old as civilization itself" (McCiellan 9). The development of civilizations established what we call justice today. Capital punishment, the execution of a criminal convicted of a crime, or the legal taking of the life of a criminal, can be divided into three categories: first, crimes against the person; second, crimes against property; and third, crimes which endanger the security of the nation (Horwitz 13). Capital punishment is still in use in the United States today, but has been abolished by many countries (II 536). The countries that still have the death pe