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Capital Punishment Is The Death Penalty

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Capital punishment

Capital punishment is the death penalty, which results from committing capital crimes like espionage, treason and murder. According to Robert Dunham, the death penalty dates back to when the European settlers came to the United States, and captain George Kendall was the first to be executed in 1612. During that time, the death penalty was also practiced on criminals with minor offenses such as; stealing and killing animals etc. Death penalty before this time was carried out through crucifixion, drowning, burning alive, beating to death. After the tenth century, hanging became the usual method of execution. The United States of America also executed people with serious mental problems before 2002. According to CNN database, “1,419 people were executed since 1976 while more than 3,200 inmates await execution.” The death penalty varies between states, race and even gender. Capital punishment law varies across the states. Thirty-one among the fifty states have the death penalty. Among the 1,419 executions that happened in the United States, 1,153 were from southern states. Texas leads the way with 530 executions, followed by Oklahoma with 112 executions. According to Elizabeth Rapaport, “ Only 2% of those executed from colonial times to present are women”. A study done by Shatzes to prove that gender inequality exists, was based on data gathers from 1,299 cases of defendants convicted of

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