Death Penalty Cruel And Unusual Punishment Research Paper
Death Penalty- Cruel and Unusual Punishment? It is one of the biggest topics to debate over; is it right to execute or is it cruel and unusual? I for one, think that the death penalty should not be around. I believe it is the ‘easy way out’ for criminals. I believe if someone does something wrong, they should have the upmost punishment. Not only to be put to death and be done with the crime.
The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. King Hammurabi of Babylon codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. Many deaths were executed by crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement (DPIC 1). Many years later, in the tenth century A.D., Britain started using hanging …show more content…
as their only form of execution. In the following century, William the Conqueror would not allow persons to be hanged or otherwise executed for any crime, except in times of war. This trend would not last, for in the Sixteenth Century, under the reign of Henry VIII, as many as 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed (DPIC 1). Many common methods of execution at the time of Henry VIII were: boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, beheading, and drawing and quartering. These executions were carried out for capital offenses. Capital offenses in those times were marrying a Jew, not confessing to a crime, and treason. By the 1700’s Britain would execute people for stealing, cutting down a tree, and even robbing a rabbit warren (procon.org).
Britain had the greatest influence on America to use the death penalty.
The first recorded execution in the new colonies was of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians (DPIC 1). In America the first attempted revoke of the death penalty was when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia’s death penalty. It said that only murder and treason would have the death penalty. This was not passed because of one vote. In 1974 Pennsylvania got rid of the death penalty for all crimes except for first degree murder. When the abolitionist movement gained momentum in the northeast, many states reduced the number of their executions and built state penitentiaries.In the early 1800’s, Pennsylvania became the first state to pursue executions in correctional facilities. In the later 1800’s, Rhode Island and Wisconsin completely did away with the death penalty. After the Civil War, the electric chair was invented. New York built the first electric chair in 1888, and in 1890 executed William Kemmler. In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced, as Nevada sought a more humane way of executing its inmates. Gee Jon was the first person executed by lethal gas. The state tried to pump cyanide gas into Jon's cell while he slept, but this proved impossible, and the gas chamber was constructed (procon.org).In the 1930’s there were more executions in the United States than any other decade in American
History.
In 1977, the United States Supreme Court held in Coker v. Georgia that the death penalty is an unconstitutional punishment for the rape of an adult woman when the victim was not killed. Other limits to the death penalty followed in the next decade (procon.org). When this case came out, so did many others banning the use of the death penalty for mental illness and intellectual disability, racial differences, and for most juveniles. In January 2000, after Illinois had released 13 innocent inmates from death row in the same time that it had executed 12 people, Illinois Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions and appointed a blue-ribbon Commission on Capital Punishment to study the issue (DPIC 1). Many religions and many people do not believe in the death penalty. In 1994, President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that expanded the federal death penalty to about 60 crimes, 3 of which do not involve murder. This angered many people. Proponents of the death penalty argue that this streamlining will speed up the death penalty process and significantly reduce its cost, although others fear that quicker, more limited federal review may increase the risk of executing innocent defendants.
As of April 1, 2008, the Death Penalty was authorized by 37 states, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Military. As of 2011 only 34 of the States still practice the death penalty. In 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court said that the use of the electric chair violated the Nebraska Constitution. With no alternative method of execution on the books, Nebraska is now without a death penalty. In 2004, the New York Supreme Court stated that the existing death penalty procedures violated the New York Constitution. The New York legislature has made no effort to change the procedures. This has now effectively eliminated the death penalty in the state (procon.org).
I still stand with being against the death penalty. I think it is a way for criminals to get out of living a life sentence. Many may not agree with me, but I am going to stand for what I believe. When it comes to a serial killer who has killed many people, I believe that is the only time someone should have to be put to death. They then do not have the opportunity to kill again. Other than this, I think every state should ban it. Too many innocent can be killed with the death penalty and it is not fair to them or their families if someone innocent has to die.
The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. King Hammurabi of Babylon codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. Many deaths were executed by crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement (DPIC 1). Many years later, in the tenth century A.D., Britain started using hanging …show more content…
as their only form of execution. In the following century, William the Conqueror would not allow persons to be hanged or otherwise executed for any crime, except in times of war. This trend would not last, for in the Sixteenth Century, under the reign of Henry VIII, as many as 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed (DPIC 1). Many common methods of execution at the time of Henry VIII were: boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, beheading, and drawing and quartering. These executions were carried out for capital offenses. Capital offenses in those times were marrying a Jew, not confessing to a crime, and treason. By the 1700’s Britain would execute people for stealing, cutting down a tree, and even robbing a rabbit warren (procon.org).
Britain had the greatest influence on America to use the death penalty.
The first recorded execution in the new colonies was of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians (DPIC 1). In America the first attempted revoke of the death penalty was when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia’s death penalty. It said that only murder and treason would have the death penalty. This was not passed because of one vote. In 1974 Pennsylvania got rid of the death penalty for all crimes except for first degree murder. When the abolitionist movement gained momentum in the northeast, many states reduced the number of their executions and built state penitentiaries.In the early 1800’s, Pennsylvania became the first state to pursue executions in correctional facilities. In the later 1800’s, Rhode Island and Wisconsin completely did away with the death penalty. After the Civil War, the electric chair was invented. New York built the first electric chair in 1888, and in 1890 executed William Kemmler. In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced, as Nevada sought a more humane way of executing its inmates. Gee Jon was the first person executed by lethal gas. The state tried to pump cyanide gas into Jon's cell while he slept, but this proved impossible, and the gas chamber was constructed (procon.org).In the 1930’s there were more executions in the United States than any other decade in American
History.
In 1977, the United States Supreme Court held in Coker v. Georgia that the death penalty is an unconstitutional punishment for the rape of an adult woman when the victim was not killed. Other limits to the death penalty followed in the next decade (procon.org). When this case came out, so did many others banning the use of the death penalty for mental illness and intellectual disability, racial differences, and for most juveniles. In January 2000, after Illinois had released 13 innocent inmates from death row in the same time that it had executed 12 people, Illinois Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions and appointed a blue-ribbon Commission on Capital Punishment to study the issue (DPIC 1). Many religions and many people do not believe in the death penalty. In 1994, President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that expanded the federal death penalty to about 60 crimes, 3 of which do not involve murder. This angered many people. Proponents of the death penalty argue that this streamlining will speed up the death penalty process and significantly reduce its cost, although others fear that quicker, more limited federal review may increase the risk of executing innocent defendants.
As of April 1, 2008, the Death Penalty was authorized by 37 states, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Military. As of 2011 only 34 of the States still practice the death penalty. In 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court said that the use of the electric chair violated the Nebraska Constitution. With no alternative method of execution on the books, Nebraska is now without a death penalty. In 2004, the New York Supreme Court stated that the existing death penalty procedures violated the New York Constitution. The New York legislature has made no effort to change the procedures. This has now effectively eliminated the death penalty in the state (procon.org).
I still stand with being against the death penalty. I think it is a way for criminals to get out of living a life sentence. Many may not agree with me, but I am going to stand for what I believe. When it comes to a serial killer who has killed many people, I believe that is the only time someone should have to be put to death. They then do not have the opportunity to kill again. Other than this, I think every state should ban it. Too many innocent can be killed with the death penalty and it is not fair to them or their families if someone innocent has to die.