The History of Capital Punishment as a Deterrent to Crime Essay

“Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect,” stated John F. Kennedy at Berlin on June 26th, 1963. Kennedy is most certainly correct in this subject because no government is ever “perfect.” There is always room for improvement in government and sometimes there are instances in which a law needs to be changed or repealed. Almost everyday, it seems, that there are outrageous crimes being committed and the criminals are being jailed rightfully so. Sometimes, a judge would decide that that criminal should receive the death penalty or capital punishment. Capital punishment has evolved over centuries from the ancient method of “an eye for an eye”, to beheadings, lynchings, electric chairs, etc. While most of

The most influential text and source of many of the moral ideas of the world come from the Bible. The Bible outlines many of the crimes that are thought to be fundamentally wrong today. Also, the Bible provided ideologies and guidelines for the punishment of those who committed crimes, especially murder. The history of capital punishment can also be traced to this ancient text. Q5 The Bible says ?Man was made like God, so whoever murders a man will himself be killed by his fellow man.?(my bible) This explains a lot of the history of the death penalty. Q1 p9

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

Capital Punishment has ended the lives of criminals for centuries. People have debated whether the government should have the power to decide one person’s life. On one side, people think the government does not have the right to play God as well as believe that the death penalty is simply unethical. Forty-eight percent of a half sample survey stated that life imprisonment was a better punishment for murder while forty-seven percent stated that capital punishment was a better punishment (Newport). However, capital punishment should be enforced throughout the country to help deter crime, benefit the economy, and ensures retribution.

The death penalty is a punishment given to people who commit heinous crimes. Since 1976, there have been over 1,390 executions. But does that make the death penalty, necessarily, a correct and justifiable form of punishment? “The death penalty is our harshest punishment,” states Ernest van den Haag, author of “The Ultimate Punishment: a Defense.” Van den Haag, in his article, argues how the death penalty is effective and should be used. However, Jack Greenberg, James P. Gray, and Jeffery Reiman, all concur that the death penalty should not be used as a punishment for criminals. Jack Greenberg, author of “Against the American System of Capital Punishment,” argues how the death penalty is an

Throughout time, people were executed for various crimes such as: not confessing to a crime, stealing, cutting down a tree, marrying a Jew, killing chickens, being a spy, striking one’s mother or father, murder, and much more (deathpenaltycurriculum.org). In a study I did, 50% of them thought the death penalty was cruel and unusual. Out of the 15 that thought it was cruel and unusual, 11 said that murderers and or rapists should get the death penalty. Capital Punishment has been around for so long it doesn’t need to be outlawed, just revised a little more like it has been as the years passed.

The curiosity of whether capital punishment is Biblical depends on the interpretation of such scriptures. It is an area of religious concern that is not addressed directly.

Within the Old Testament, God commanded the use of the death penalty for specific crimes ranging from murder to blasphemy. “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death” (Exodus 21:12, English Standard Version). In contrast, the New Testament shifts the focus of capital punishment towards Jesus and his example

The use of the death penalty in the United States has always been a controversial topic. The death penalty, also known as Capital Punishment, is a legal process where a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a heinous crime. The judicial decree that someone be punished in this manner is a death sentence, while the actual enforcement is an execution (Bishop 1). Over the years, most of the world has abolished the death penalty. But the United States government, and a majority of its citizens, defend and support its continued use. There is evidence, however, that some attitudes about the death penalty are changing.

    There has been about 15,760 executions in the United States since 1700, (http://time.com/deathpenalty/), but that is counting all types of executions, for example: burning, firing squad, hanging, gas, electrocution, injection, and others. Now looking from when the capital punishment was approved in 1976 (Death penalty Information Center), only 1,448 executions have been made. The capital punishment was made for “retribution, theory which demand for ‘tooth for a tooth and eye for an eye’ … if the criminal snatches liberty, peace, and lives… [they] should also be deprived of all these,” (http://listovative.com). It was also made to help have a more pure society, by placing fear, “best method to prevent

Crime is permanent and unchanging. The same can be said for death. It is for this reason that the death penalty is so effective. The death penalty, also known as “capital punishment,” is defined as “the execution, or punishment by killing, of a person who has been found guilty of a specific, and usually serious, crime” (Barber). Capital punishment should be enforced throughout the United States because it is a humane tradition that has been practiced for centuries, it deters crime, and it provides retribution and gives justice to the victimized.

Capital punishment has always been a major controversy ever since the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional. Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, became extremely popular as a use of “punishment” for ones illegal actions. The death penalty was first established during 1834 for crimes committed such as “idolatry, witchcraft, blasphemy, murder, manslaughter, poisoning, bestiality, sodomy, adultery, man stealing, and false witness in case rebellion” (Bohm).

The verse Exodus 21:12 says, “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.” Since the Catholic church believes the Bible to be the word of God, this is considered God’s opinion on the death penalty. Also, some argue that the Bible gives governments the authority to use death penalty based on the verses Romans 13:1-7 which state that all authority is placed there under God’s will and should therefore be

Capital punishment is a method of retributive punishment as old as civilization itself. Both the Greeks and the Romans invoked the death penalty for a wide variety of

Throughout time the death penalty has been a common practice but that does not mean that it is thought to be a way to deal with a person’s wrong doings or mistakes. In the Old Testament it states that the Mosaic Law called for no less than thirty-six capital offenses for execution. “Stoning, burning, decapitation, and strangulation were ways of punishment for a multitude of offences including violation of the Sabbath, murder, adultery, blasphemy and incest to name a few(2).” It was seen fit because of God’s Covent with Noah and the principle, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in His own image” (Genesis 9:6)(2) thus allowing people to think that punishment by death is what would be deserving by committing one of the thirty-six capital offences.