The death penalty and the principle of human life protection deeply intertwine as a subject of today’s society debates. The criminal law regulations of most modern states have abandoned this most repressive form of punishment, while it has been retained in states with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. The subject of this paper is the presentation of the development of the death penalty throughout history, the sources of law by which it is regulated, the consideration of its theological, philosophical, and moral-ethical aspect with a review of recent global trends and its justification as a form of punishment. Although a large majority of states support the abolitionist stance on the death penalty, prescribing that every human being has the right to life, some states still lean towards retentionism, emphasizing the preventive function of the death penalty and sending a fundamental message of refraining from committing criminal offenses. Considering that they compromise existing norms to such an extent, the legislator is focused on prescribing and executing the death penalty, all in an attempt to prevent such actions in the future. Considerations about the death penalty, which will be the subject of this graduate thesis, cannot give an ultimate answer to the question of whether it should be completely abolished at the level of international legal order, precisely taking into account all the controversies it brings to modern society. Following all of the above, the main goal of this paper is to bring closer the complexity of the topic of the death penalty as a form of punishment, finding solutions to eliminate negative aspects and approach more humane alternatives to punishment that protect the fundamental human value - life.