Capital Punishment
Capital punishment 1 is in decline as the twentieth century nears its end. Once a virtually universal practice, only about 100 of the world's 180 or so nations still take the lives of those who commit serious violations of their laws (Amnesty International USA 1989a:259-262; Hood 1989:7-33). Executions have become especially rare among industrialized democracies. A few retain capital statutes dealing with extraordinary crimes such as treason, but only Japan, parts of the former Soviet Union, and the United States still carry out death sentences for "ordinary" crimes of violence. But for at least the time being, the United States stands in stark contrast to the international trend. Capital punishment is flourishing here. After going without executions from 1967 through 1976, 38 states and the federal government have passed revised capital-sentencing statutes that meet the stiffer constitutional requirements the Supreme Court laid down between 1976 and 1983. By the time these words appear in print, at least two more states -- Iowa and Wisconsin -- may well have brought back the death penalty. Since 1983, the Court has removed a number of procedural impediments on the states, and the rate of electrocutions, gassings, and lethal inj
In 1982, Texas became the first state to execute a prisoner using lethal injection; some 75% of executions now employ this method. Leslie Horton, awaiting execution for rape in Florida, was enjoying a visit with his family the morning of June 29, 1972, when a guard stepped in and asked "Can you stand some more good news today?" The Supreme Court, the guard informed him, had just abolished the death penalty. Nearly 3,000 convicts now await their dates with the executioner (see Table 1 ). President Nixon reiterated his belief that capital punishment is a superior deterrent to violent crime, and told reporters that he hoped the ruling would not extend to federal death sentences for kidnapping and hijacking ( Robbins 1972). Some of the first countries to abolish capital punishment included Venezuela (1863), San Marino (1865), and Costa Rica (1877). Gallup polls were soon reporting a sharp realignment of popular opinion in favor of capital punishment ( Zimring and Hawkins 1986:39-40). 2 These results indicate a dramatic reversal of opinion since the mid-1960s when, for a brief period, capital punishment advocates found themselves in the minority ( Zimring and Hawkins 1986:39).
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Acceptance Essays
