Death Penalty

Although there is much debate now on the issue of capital punishment it was not always like this. For most of recorded history capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, has been available to every government.

Capital punishment was not restricted to just murder and other serious crimes but to a variety of wrongdoing. There were also various forms of punishments. Forms included crucifixions, which dated back to B.C. and continued after the death of Christ, stoning, drowning, burning at the stake, as Joan of Ark was, impaling, beheading, and seppuku, which was, forced suicide. More recent forms are lethal gas or injection, electrocution, hanging, and shooting. These newer methods did not come about until the late eighteenth century. Executions were also conducted differently than now. Executions were made public and involved cruel methods. Punishment by death and executions were a routine part of the administration of law and no one questioned it.

It was not until the era, known as the Age of Enlightenment, in the eighteenth century that the first significant movement to abolish the death penalty arose. The Age of Enlightenment encouraged people to be more independent, to start thinking on their own, and havi

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He had spent 18 years on death row in Idaho on kidnapping, rape, and murder charges, until DNA evidence proved his innocence. He published Tratto dei delitti e delle pene in 1764 and it was in 1880 that it was translated as Essay on Crimes and Punishment. He was an Italian Jurist and philosopher.

Parens patriae is the traditional role of the state as the guardian of juveniles, acting to promote the welfare of the children. All of the juvenile offenders on death row are male and had committed murder. Federal and State governments combined executed 66 inmates in 2001, 85 in 2000, and 98 in 1999. Statistical data on homicide rates before and after the abolishing of capital punishment along with comparing the number of homicides in areas with and without the death penalty shows that the presence or absences of capital punishment or executions does not visibly influence the rate of homicides.

In closing the saying eye for an eye dates back to biblical times and many people still feel this way. Within twenty years Venezuela (1863) and Portugal (1867) had also abolished capital punishment.

Two thirds of Americans support capital punishment, which has steadily fallen from its peak of 80% in the mid 1990’s. Charles Fain was one among five set free in 2001. This lead to executions being held behind closed doors to make them less public. The first response of supporters felt it necessary for the safety of fellow citizens and the second response was they wanted to remove some of the visibly gruesome aspects of the executions. And most recent statistics from the justice departments shows the death penalty sentences passed by American courts has dropped. The man to really kick the debate into gear was

Booths 2

Cesare Beccaria.

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