The Death Penalty Should Continue to be Used in the U.S. Ever since the death penalty has been declared constitutional in 1976, thousands of people have been placed on death row and 314 of them have been executed.( Yaffe,1) Thirty-eight states now allow the death penalty, with New York being the last to adapt this legislation last March. Massachusetts and Iowa have been trying to pass a law that would to allow the death penalty to be used in their states. Capital punishment is most often saved for murder and sometimes arson, treason, burglary, and forcible rape of a 14 year old or under from a 18 year old or ol