The Death Penalty Dec. 20, 2005 Looks like Tookie Williams has raised the question again if the death penalty should exist. The death penalty has reached it's lowest level of support in 25 years. Apparently many Americans see strapping a man down on a gurney and poisoning him is cruel. They say it is not a deterrent to killing someone. Well, I'll tell you something, deep down in my gut, I feel the threat of lethal injection is the number one reason I haven't murdered some one. The second biggest reason.........the wood chipper is broken.