TMD member Lisa spoke on the death penalty and traced the history of capital punishment from the inception of our country to the present bill that aims to replace the death penalty with life without parole. She gave a personal account of her involvement with this issue, discussed specific death penalty cases, presented current statistics and polls in California and outlined arguments FOR the death penalty, such as vengeance and deterring future crimes, and arguments AGAINST, including rehabilitation, racial and socioeconomic biases, and the tendency of Americans to see themselves as moral police. She concluded with Janet Reno’s stand that capital punishment does not deter future crimes. She also commended Desmond Tutu’s current work to abolish capital punishment.