Ancient Death Penalty UseThe practice of the death penalty has been used since the beginning of human history to punish those who have committed crimes. One of the earliest examples of this is found in the Code of Hammurabi (1700s BC). This early document of rules contains many instances of death as a penalty for crimes. According to L.W. King in his translation of The Code of Hammurabi, if anyone stole something under the Code of Hammurabi they would be put to death, along with many other offenses, surprisingly not including murder as a capital offense.
Death Penalty Europe (Pre-U.S.)Before the settlement of the Americas, According to Michael H. Reggio, in his article "History of the Death Penalty", in Roman society death was often harsh and included crucifixion, drowning at sea, burial alive, beating to death, and impalement. Overall, the use of the death penalty grew, often including brutal methods such as burning or boiling to death. Many European countries continued the use of the death penalty throughout the following centuries and Britain grew to be one of the biggest proponents of the death penalty's use.
|
Death Penalty in Early America |
This trend of high use of the death penalty by the English was transferred to America as the English began to colonize America. The earliest reported case of the death penalty in the American settlements was in 1608 in Virginia (according to Michael Reggio in his article, “History of the Death Penalty”. In 1612, Sir Thomas Dale implemented the Divine, Moral, and Martial laws that made death the penalty for minor offenses. The Death Penalty laws were relaxed to encourage settlement. However, one prominent example of unwarranted death penalty in early America is the Salem Witch Trials in which many were sentenced to death after being suspected of witchcraft. Overall, the death penalty was used liberally in the early history of America.
|
|
Historical Racism in UseThe use of the death penalty in the United States has been plagued with racial prejudice. According to Howard Allen, in his article “Race, Class, And The Death Penalty: Capital Punishment In American History,” from 1935 to 1945, the ratio of African Americans executed to Caucasians executed exceeded 10:1. In addition, on average, from the early 1800's through 1945, blacks in America suffered the death penalty at a rate nearly nine times that for whites. In addition, the South has historically had a higher percentage of the public in favor of keeping the death penalty alive. In addition, the South has killed many African Americans in a way that still affects society today.
|
|
Furman v. GeorgiaThe Supreme Court has made many important decisions regarding the death penalty, however none have changed the death penalty in America more than decision of Furman v. Georgia (1972) according to (“Supreme Court Cases”). The case brought to the Supreme Court in the case brought up the constitutional issue of equal protection under law and the cruel and unusual punishment of United States citizens. Ultimately the Supreme Court split the decision 5-4 in favor of removing the death penalty how “it was currently applied in State criminal codes. Several of the justices not supporting the Majority decision argued that the death penalty was best handled through judicial restraint. This means that they believed the death penalty was best decided by the public instead of the Supreme Court.
|
Post Furman Decision U.S.After the decision of Furman v. Georgia, the state governments of the U.S. began putting the future of the death penalty into their own power by revising their laws regarding the death penalty to preserve the ability to continue using the death penalty. Sheherezade Malik states in his article, “Lethal Injection, Politics, and the Future of the Death Penalty: Allen Chair Issue 2015: A Survey of the History of the Death Penalty in the United States,” “Florida was the first state to pass new death penalty laws, reinstating capital punishment only five months after the Furman decision. By 1975, thirty states had again passed death penalty laws and nearly 200 people sat on death row”. The death penalty popularity reached an, “all-time high in the mid-1990s, with 78% of Americans in favor of the death penalty for criminals convicted of murder.”
|
|