Should The United States Use Capital Punishment?

Capital punishment was first introduced in the Seventh Century B.C. in the Draconian Law of Athens, which stated the death penalty was the only form of punishment for any and all crimes; death penalty laws were first established in the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Codes of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for twenty five different crimes. Capital punishment was carried out by means of: crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. Capital punishment was continued to be seen, spreading to countries such as Britain and in the United States.

In 1984, former NFL player Kermit Alexander lost his mother, sister and two nephews due to a gang related shooting on the wrong family. The Alexander's family was not supposed to be targeted, it was a miss communication between the gang members. Alexander was so full of rage that he prowled the streets at night in search of the members that did this to his family, his goal was to give revenge for what they had done. The only reason he did not become a killer himself was because the mayor Tom Bradley made him promise to let it go and let the law handle the situation from there and in 1986 the killer, Cox was found and sentenced to death. Capital Punishment should be allowed because it stops the killer's from being able to kill again, it provides some closure for the families who have lost a loved one, and it is a deterrent showing what will be done to you if you do these heinous crimes.

“The death penalty is not about whether people deserve to die for the crimes they commit. The real question of capital punishment in this country is, Do we deserve to kill?” In 1607 the British left the United Kingdom to the new world now known as the United States. When the British went to the United States they brought over the death penalty with them. When the British came to the United States there had been some spies that followed them from the European countries. They ended up finding a guy named Kendall who was a spy from spain. The first execution occurred in Virginia where they executed Kendall. After the first execution, it became a regular thing in the new world. People were executed for stealing grapes, trading with the Indians and killing chickens.

Capital punishment, or death penalty, has been here for thousands of years around the world. Capital punishment is when a criminal or offender is convicted of a heinous crime and is then sentenced to death. Ancient Greece was one of the first civilizations to start using capital punishment, followed by the Romans and religions such as Christianity and Judaism. The death penalty was used on anyone who committed crimes such as female adultery, violence against a King, religious deviance, counterfeiting, and murder.

The use of the death penalty has brought peace of mind to our citizens. Though through the mid nineteen sixties until the early nineteen eighties only about six death penalties actually took effect. When the number of executions dropped, the murder rate rose from 5.6 per 100,000 people to 10.2 which is almost double the murder rate. A society cannot live in fear but needs to live in reassurance and protection. As of nineteen ninety-nine, the murder rate dropped dramatically to 5.7 because the execution rate increased to 47 executions. Pearce, Matt. "Counterpoint: Defending The Death Penalty." Points Of View: Death Penalty (2014): 6. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. This demonstrates the deterrent effect capital punishment has on society. The result is deterrence shows if one kills then one will be punished for their actions and crime.

Should capital punishment be allowed in America? The issue with capital murder is it is killing a human an actual person who at some level has emotions. You must wonder if it is right or wrong to decide why some should die and if you are going to be the one to decide that that person should just be dead rather than living because they are such a threat to society. Capital punishment does not work. There is a wealth of mounting evidence that proves this fact. The death penalty, both in the U.S. and around the world, is discriminatory and is used disproportionately against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic and religious communities. Since humans are fallible, the risk of executing the innocent can never

Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty and that is the legalisation of being able act upon a crime one person makes by sentencing them to death. The death penalty is believed to be originated during the 18th century BC. This showed that you will be given capital punishment for 25 different crimes, including murder. The first ways of capital punishment were crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. 10th century AD, hanging came the most popular way for the death penalty. In 16th century AD over 72,000 people were believed to be executed. From 1823 to 1837 the laws changed and over 100 of the 222 crimes that were punishable by capital punishment were eliminated.

Dating back to ancient times, all the way up until the mid-twentieth century, it was tradition to execute criminals after they had committed a heinous crime on another victim. To this day, capital punishment is a subject undergoing intense study, and is a hot topic of controversy. It is a challenging debate with many different viewpoints. Many people are pro death penalty, while others are quite against it, and there are others with amphibological feelings towards the subject. One of the many different questions that originate when the topic of the death penalty arises is if capital punishment is deterrence for crime. Capital punishment stirs up a fierce debate, but over the years research has proven it is not deterrence, and states without the death penalty have a lower crime rate than states than allow the death penalty.

The United States has a long history with the death penalty. Every perspective of the death has been argued, from the religious aspect of the government playing “God” to the death penalty being a solid form of crime deterrence and everything in between. This paper will show the death penalty is an outdated form of punishment and an expense that cannot be justified due to the lack of crime deterrence.

The earliest historical record of the death penalty otherwise known as capital punishment goes back as far as the eighteenth century B.C., when the code of King Hammurabi of Babylon listed 25 crimes which were punishable by death. Since then, the uses of the death penalty have prevailed throughout the ages in laws and justice systems of different civilizations. For instance, the Draconian Code of Athens punishes all crimes with the death penalty. During those times, the death penalty involved suffering a gruesome death such as being burnt alive, impaling, crucifixion and stoning (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011).

The demands of the 21st century contend that our justice system is in need of reform. One of the underlining reasons the death penalty has no future is due to the cost that this correctional theory imposes from start to finish. Currently thirty-one states allow capital punishment for the most heinous crimes (Wikipedia, 2017). Death penalty attitude researcher Phoebe Ellsworth says, Public support for the death penalty went down very rashly between 1950 and 1967 (from 65 percent approving to 45 percent), then reversed direction from 1967 to 1980 (when support rose to 75 percent), and since 1995 has been declining again (down to 64 percent approval in 2007) (Ellsworth, 1994).

Out of all Americans, “more than 60% of them support the death penalty” (Harden 1). Many people in the United States support this decision because they feel like justice needs to be rightfully served to those who committed unforgivable crimes. In some cases, this may seem inhumane but in other cases, it is what is best for the community for the people. The death penalty has been around for many years and it is still a debatable topic for some individuals. The death penalty was created to help, not harm; however, this can be discussed by a broad spectrum of people and it can be easy to see both sides of why it should or should not be around in this day and age. The death penalty is not accepted in every state; however, many should be informed on where it originated and how long it has been around, why it is used, and what people can do to only improve the system.

Other issues include whether this punishment should be applied to other crimes other than murder such as rape of children. Some believe that capital punishment should not only be used for the murder of another person, but it should be used for major crimes such as rape of children, trafficking, etc. Applying this punishment would be a preventive way to stop crimes such as trafficking, rape, etc., because it would not be worth going against the law and face a serious penalty. Accusing a defendant for a crime that was never committed is another issue whether they should be held accountable for it. Innocent people are caught up in a situation where they are found guilty of committing a crime they’ve never done. First, they are accused of the crime, and then they are serving the time given. There are times where there is misidentification, false information, wrong accusing.

This paper explores how society has influenced the development of the death penalty throughout history. It begins with a brief explanation of the origins of capital punishment, referencing the first known documentation of actions punishable by death. The paper goes on to explore different methods of execution and how they have progressed and changed over the years. Documented cases at different points of history are referenced to show the relationship of time periods and beliefs to the implementation of capital punishment. Finally, the development of different laws and changes to existing laws pertaining to the death penalty are addressed.

Capital punishment has a long past going from the 5th century up to today although in a smaller part of the world. I have noticed that there is typically a set of rules that each culture sets up that defines what can get you the death penalty. “In the 18th Century BC, The Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon codified the death penalty for twenty-five different crimes, although murder was not one of them.” (Reggio), in this you would normally assume that murder would automatically sentence you to death but why did they not include it in this list of twenty-five? Another Example of strange rules was in the 7th century: “The 7th Century BC Draconian Code of Athens made death the penalty for every crime committed” (Reggio), this example takes a more aggressive reaction to crime which unlike The Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon which doesn’t include murder. Going forwards today you will find that in the U.S. Capital