INTRODUCTION: Body, paragraph one: Neglect and painful insecurity marred the childhoods of Truman Capote and Perry Smith, leading to common fears and experiences that Capote translates into his writing of In Cold Blood. Truman Capote did not have a stable upbringing during his childhood, internalizing a fear of abandonment, which he echoes through Perry Smith. Capote demonstrates an intense emotional attachment to one of the killers, Smith. Throughout the five years that Capote worked on his project, he examined Smith in depth and eventually became friends with him due to Smith's troubled childhood which resembled his own. Capote's parents, Lillie Mae and Arch, divorced at a young age, leaving Capote in the care of others, and as a result he spent much of his childhood in Monroeville, Alabama (Truman Capote about the author ). This abandonment by his parents haunted Capote and allowed others to harass him for his effeminate ways. Although he found comfort in his lifelong friend Harper Lee, his parents and friends in Alabama failed Capote by failing to provide him with the love and understanding of a mother and father (Biography of Truman Capote). Smith's youth, although more severe, paralleled that of Capote. In Smith's childhood, "there was evidence of severe emotional deprivation... This deprivation could involve a prolonged or recurrent absence of one or both parents, a chaotic home life in which the parents were unknown, or an outright rejection of the child by one or both. parents, the child being raised by others” (Capote 191). Smith's abandonment was due to his mother who "proved to be a shameful drunkard" (Capote 78), and his father who abandoned Smith after their separation. Due to parental neglect, orphanages became the primary source of care... middle of paper...... necessary,' and while most of his subjects said so or what the hell, one student replied: “I think they should be locked in the same cell for the rest of their lives. Never allowed to receive visitors. They sit there looking at each other until the day they die. And a short, strong, sturdy man said, “I believe in capital punishment.” It's like the Bible says: an eye for an eye, and yet we are missing two pairs! » (Capote 159). Throughout his writings, Capote points out the flaws in the company's thought process and execution. Society uses capital punishment as an elaborate ruse to justify revenge and obtain that revenge also through murder. Capital punishment is the most irreparable crime that governments commit without consequence. “The death penalty is not an act of self-defense against an immediate threat to life. This is the premeditated murder of a prisoner” (Amnesty International).