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Death Penalty

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Death Penalty
Honors American Government
2/26/13
There are many controversial topics in the United States of America. These topics are debated on whether they violate the Constitution and the Bill of Rights or not. One of the most controversial topics is capital punishment. Capital punishment is disputed on whether or not it violates the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. In the span of 32 years, 1997 to 2009, there have been 1,188 people executed (death procon). Numerous capital punishment cases are the execution of murderers; it can also be implemented for treason, espionage, and other crimes. The types of capital punishment include hanging, firing squad, electrocution, lethal gas and lethal injection. It is widely debated on whether or not these punishments are considered cruel and unusual. To this day capital punishment remains a controversial topic. The death penalty roots back to the 1700s B.C to The Code of Hammurabi. In ancient Babylonia, the first known death penalty laws were written and called The Code of Hammurabi (Historical). This law was implemented for twenty-five crimes including; adultery and helping slaves escape, however murder was not one of them. In the fourteenth century B.C through Hittie Code the death penalty was applied. Draconian Code of Athens, which appeared in the Seventh Century B.C, declared all crimes to be punished with the same punishment, death. After two centuries, in the Fifth Century B.C, Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets was followed. These punishments included death by means such as, crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning
Sreeram 2 alive and impalement. Afterwards, In the Tenth Century A.D, Britain used hanging as the death penalty. William the Conqueror, from the Eleventh Century A.D, forbid hangings for any crime, besides during war. However by the Sixteenth Century A.D the law fell through and Henry VIII executed about 72,000 people. For the next two centuries Britain continued to conduct



Cited: "ATKINS v. VIRGINIA." Atkins v. Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2001/2001_00_8452>. "Barack Obama on the Issues." Barack Obama on the Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://ontheissues.org/Barack_Obama.htm>. "Death Penalty." Death Penalty. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/1606/death-penalty.aspx>. "Death Penalty ProCon.org." Death Penalty ProCon.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. <http://deathpenalty.procon.org/>. "History: 19th Century Changes in American Death Penalty Laws." History: 19th Century Changes in American Death Penalty Laws. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. <http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/history/history-3.htm>. "Obama on Capital Punishment." Obama on Capital Punishment. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/Obama/Capital-Punishment.php>. "Romney on the Issues." Romney on the Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://2012.candidate-comparison.org/?compare=Romney>. Washington Post. The Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2007. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/20/AR2007022001292.html>.

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