Death Penalty and the Eight Amendment

The expression "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" has taken on a whole new meaning. Lately, murderers have been getting a punishment equal to their crime, death. In 1967, executions in the United States were temporarily suspended to give the federal appellate courts time to decide whether or not the death penalty was unconstitutional. Then, in 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of "Furman versus Georgia" that the death …

…and unusual punishment." If the death penalty is not "cruel and unusual punishment" then what is? Is there possibly anything more cruel then dying a slow death while breathing in lethal fumes, or anything more unusual then watching people who are paid to shoot at the target on your chest? The Bill of Rights was established to protect the rights of the people and now Americans are taking away these rights from their own countrymen.