In this project, I aim to provide a comprehensive account of the acceptability and utilization of capital punishment through the lens of retributivist and consequentialist ethical theory. After determining the moral justification for the use of the death penalty, I conclude that there is not enough theoretical ground to claim that capital punishment is ethical or morally justifiable on the basis of theory alone. It is necessary to account for the practical, empirical evidence when making policy decisions, rather than basing them on theory alone. I propose various alternative methods of reaching collective unity and establishing justice in the form of restoration and rehabilitation.