The Death Penalty Is The Punishment For A Wide Range Of Crimes

Though it may seem that the debate over the death penalty only most recently surfaced, the dreadful tradition of capital punishment arrived in the United States at the time of the colonists. In the 17th century, most people were hung, beheaded, burned alive, or crushed under stones. All of these were in public, where a large crowd gathered to watch the horrible sight, similar to the tradition in old Europe. Eventually, the 19th century favored hanging as the most common form of execution. This marked the start of a more humane approach accepted as constitutional as executions moved away from the public eye. More developments came in the 1800’s as a movement to abolish capital punishment arose. This effort was stalled for a time during the Civil

On January 17, 1977, the suspension of the death penalty officially ended with the execution of Gary Gilmore in Utah, by firing squad, and that same year the introduction and use of the new kinder gentler lethal injection was

Various religions also have varied responses to capital punishment. Even a particular denomination or religious group may not have a unified stand regarding capital punishment. Religious sentiments do play a significant part in the views of people regarding capital punishment. The Bible is replete with various passages that may seem to support or condemn capital punishment. The Old Testament, particularly, is based upon a morality of “teeth against teeth” and “life for life.” The books of laws of the Old Testament actually prescribe stoning to death the persons who commit serious crimes against God and against the community. A number of biblical scholars have considered the part of the Ten Commandments that say “You shall not kill” as a prohibition against individual cases of murder (The Ryrie Study Bible, Exodus 20:13). In the first place, the Christian faith believes that humans are created in the image of God. As such, a serious crime against another person is also a crime against God. In the Old Testament, premeditated murder was sufficient reason for the death penalty (Numbers 35:31, 33). Moreover, in Genesis 9:6, it can be read that “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed”. St. Thomas Aquinas also published his thoughts regarding capital

1972, Furman v. Georgia. The opinion said, “[t]he Court holds that the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in these cases constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.”

Capital punishment first established date as far back as the 18th century B.C. There were 25 different crimes for the death penalty. This made death the only punishment for all crimes. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement.

The history from capital punishment starts back to colonial time’s .During the colonial times more than 15,000 people have been executed in the United States. The Capital punishment was first introduce early as biblical times for absolute assurance that a criminal 's life would end. The followers of Christianity and Judaism claimed to find justification for capital punishment in the Bible. According to the facts, in 1608, the first execution in the thirteen centuries was Captain George Kendall, he was executed for spying for the Spanish. In 1632 Jane Champion was the first women to be executed for unknown reasons .Surprisingly, Texas is the state that has a used capital punishment the most since 1976. In 1930 the executions average 167 per year, which was the highest in American history.

Furthermore, in the 1830s and 1840s capital punishment was targeted nationwide (Henderson, 9). The movement against the death penalty sought to “halt public executions” (Henderson, 9). Public executions at the time were widely attended and seen as a form of entertainment (Henderson, 9). The most popular form of execution at this time (and still today in some countries) was hanging (Beliveau, 202). Although this type of execution was common when carrying out the death sentence, it was not always the most humane. Beliveau claims that “contrary to what is often believed, in the majority of cases it is not the blocking of air entering the lungs that causes death” (202). In addition, the most common types of hanging were short-drop hanging and long-drop hanging (Beliveau, 203-4). Short-drop hanging was the more common of the two and had similar effects to dying by strangulation whereas long-drop hanging was created with the intent of executing someone in a more humane way (Beliveau, 203-4). Other methods of capital punishment include decapitation, lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, firing squad (Denver et al).

In 1608, George Kendall was the first person to be executed in American. He was executed for plotting to go against Britain for the Spaniard. In 1837, many states handed down death for just about anything a person. Like the state of South Carolina did not have a prison system so they did not have anywhere to housed condemned prisoners or no other solution With knowing this, South Carolina handed down death for any crime committed such as for murder, slave-stealing, bank robberies, arson, trying to help a slave escape, dueling, tying to help a slave read, or causing mayhem. Many execution were done publicly. Many of the town’s people would show up just to see a person being executed. There were often fighting among the people to try to get the best viewing of the execution. Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty in 1846 followed by Rhode Island in 1852 and Wisconsin in 1853. Both of these states were influenced heavily by religious groups to change or abolish their death penalty. With the push to abolish slavery in the United States, the movement for the abolishment of the death penalty began to gain some ground. During the Second Great Reform period which lasted from 1895-1917, Congress decided to pass a bill that would reduce the number of crimes that would constitute the death penalty. The “Maine Law was passed in Kansas in 1907 which abolish all death penalties. Within seven years, several other states followed pursuit and did the same. The states were Tennessee, North and South Dakota, Oregon, Arizona and Missouri. But, if a person was convicted of rape, then death was an option as punishment. Oregon and Arizona later brought back the death penalty. In 1964, the people in Oregon voted to abolish the death penalty all together. States were having difficulties abolishing the death penalty on their own so the courts were brought

State governments tried two new strategies to be more specific and direct in death penalty trials: guided discretion and the mandatory death penalty. In Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976) among others, the Supreme Court gave sentencing courts the right to impose sentences of death for specific crimes and allowed a two-stage (“bifurcated”) trial (www.cpa). In the first stage, the guilt or innocence of the defendant is established, while in the second stage, the jury or the judge (depending on the state) determines the sentence. Mandatory death penalty for specific crimes, on the other hand, was deemed unconstitutional because of cases such as Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280 (1976). These rulings lead to the modification of each state’s statutes regarding the death penalty (www.uaa). The moratorium ended and executions resumed in January 1977.

The death penalty has been a firmly established institution in the United States since its inception. Executions were halted briefly between 1967 and 1977 as the U.S. Supreme Court considered and then ruled on the constitutionality of the death penalty. But states quickly revised their statutes, and some of these new laws met the Court's

The very first legal executions came in the United States was during the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. British soldiers hung the first person to die by the death penalty, Nathan Hale, for espionage (Foley 167). The reason that I have included this history is to prove that if something has been working, why stop

Death penalty, there is over 50 countries that use that as the capital punishment according to (CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OVER THE YEARS). For centuries it has been used. It was used against individuals who indeed broke or became extreme rebels over societies rule. The history starts from the Middle Ages, they would either be boiled alive, burned or hanged. Public execution has become more popular during the 18th century when kings would allow such inhumane acts of punishment. But at that early time there was an improper development in human society; perhaps not as mature. Live executions would be shown to the public even as a form public participation, this would be almost acted as a form of revelry even as a form of parting. Public execution was question and so it was moved inside the jail which blinded the public view. But who can’t say death can be a cruel act to do against your will or a choice of option and regret? The death penalty was protected in the 18th century because it became a “sanction of God” (CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OVER THE YEARS). Capital punishment can be immoral but only determining on the reasoning behind capital punishment will be acted upon. Individuals don’t always have a conscious that involves the result in consequences after their

The Death Penalty has been used in the United States since the very foundation of our nation; the first recorded case was the execution of Captain George Kendall in 1608 in the Jamestown colony as it was believed Kendall was a spy (DPIC). Americans have seen executions throughout history and are somewhat exposed to the idea but the 21st century is a very different place than the 17th century. This century is a time of equality and rights for people of all

Capital punishment has been a punitive consequence of multiple societies in many different countries over the years. The death penalty has been witnessed in many different forms, depending on the society or culture. It is viewed as an act of justice due to its deeply embedded historical tradition. Over the centuries, many cultures have used capital punishment because it ensures the safety of society. Criminals continue to use violence as their way of solving a problem. Capital punishment deters crime rates more than anything else. The death penalty offers justice with historical tradition. According to Roger Smith, societies use capital punishment as a consequence for numerous crimes. “The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi states death as the

Capital punishment, or otherwise known as the death penalty, is death sentenced upon a person by the state as a punishment for a crime. These crimes are known as capital crimes or capital offenses. Capital punishment has been practiced in many societies; now 58 nations practice the death penalty, while 97 nations have abolished it. In the past, it was common for the ruling party to make the offender known throughout the community for his or her criminal act. Thus, if the community were made aware of the consequences for breaking the laws, the crime rate would reduce. Such criminal penalties included: boiling to death, disembowelment, crucifixion and many more. As time went on the movement towards more humane treatments took hold. In the