Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the legal

authorization of executing someone as a punishment for committing

specific crimes. The death penalty has held a place in history as far back

as we can trace history. It is in the Code of King Hammaurabi of

Babylon, the Hittite Code, the Draconian Code of Athens, and the

Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. Some ancient texts state that it was

strictly the shedding of blood that made up for crimes, which means that

it did not have to be the criminals blood being shed (McGuigan &

Bronwyn, 2017). The manner in which a person was executed had to be

painful. Drawing and quartering, flaying alive, or burning were not

uncommon practices in Medieval Europe or in much of the rest of the

world. Other common means of execution included boiling alive,

dismemberment, and crucifixion (McGuigan & Bronwyn, 2017).

Britain, under Henry VIII, was known to have executed over

72,000 people for their crimes, and it only got worse. Crimes punishable
by death were as ridiculous as cutting down a tree. The European settlers

brought the death penalty to America, and 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 (Unknown,

2017). Movements in the 18th century lead to more ideal punishments

such as hanging to break the neck rather than to strangle, which then

brought about the more recent methods of execution such as the electric

chair, firing squad, and lethal injection.

There have been many famous cases between people and states

regarding the amendments and the constitutionality of their punishments.

Most of these cases furthered the development of a constitutionally and

morally correct judicial system regarding capital crimes and their

punishments. One of the most famous cases, Gregg v. Georgia, resulted

in what is known as the Gregg Decision. This was a decision made by

the Supreme Court, which stated that Capital Punishment was legal
under the Eighth Amendment. Though, because of this case, many states

made reforms to their crimes punishable by death.

Reforms continued to follow, one including the official violation

of the Eighth Amendment regarding mental illness and intellectual

disability. Many states now require a psychologist, psychiatrist, or

physician to conduct a pre-screening evaluation to determine the

defendants IQ. Reforms revolving around racial discrimination, and

juveniles have also been made. Race issues occured in the famous case

Batson v. Kentucky, where a prosecutor striked people on the jury due to

race (Unknown, 2017). In just 2005, the Supreme Court ruled executions

of juveniles as unconstitutional, due to the Roper v. Simmons case.

The United States has shown a decrease in capital punishment

executions over the years (see graph A) which may be due to a

resolution that was passed. In April 1999, the United Nations Human

Rights Commission passed the Resolution Supporting Worldwide

Moratorium On Executions. The resolution calls on countries which

have not abolished the death penalty to restrict its use of the death
penalty, including not imposing it on juvenile offenders and limiting the

number of offenses for which it can be imposed. Ten countries,

including the United States, China, Pakistan, Rwanda and Sudan voted

against the resolution (Unknown, 2017).

Graph A:

(Executions By Year, 2017)

Public opinions have made capital punishment a very controversial

topic (see graph B), containing many highly debated issues such as

morality, constitutionality, deterrence, retribution, irrevocable mistakes,

cost of death vs. life in prison, race, closure for victims families,

attorney quality, and physicians and executions (Unknown, 2016).

Graph B:

(Jones, 2013)

This graph shows the majority of people being in favor of the death

penalty.

The morality and constitutionality of the death penalty are two of

the more difficult topics being debated, because each person has

different ideals regarding morals, and the constitution can be interpreted

in different ways. While this may be the case with some issues, it is clear

to see why many would want not want to abolish capital murder due to

its deterrent effects. Each execution deters an average of 18 murders,

according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors at Emory

University (Tanner, 2007). This statistic includes alarming numbers

that are very hard to ignore.

On the topic of retribution or revenge, many want to see a more

measured response. An eye for an eye is a fair argument for those who

do not have to directly deal with capital punishment, but for families of

victims and criminals, in many cases, it only causes more pain.

Mistakes revolving around the death penalty are a very big issue,

just as any mistake when incriminating someone. Between 1973 and

2014, 144 people were exonerated, 1.6 percent of all death penalty cases.

While this seems like a small number, this does not include those who

have been executed, and their cases never looked over again.

One of the most alarming facts about capital punishment are the

costs. Keeping someone on death row costs taxpayers much more than
keeping them in prison for life without parole. Each individual capital

punishment cases costs are raised due to the full court process in which

they must go through. Fox News reported that studies have uniformly

and conservatively shown that a death-penalty trial costs $1 million

more than one in which prosecutors seek life without parole (Barnes,

2010)

Racial prejudice has been an issue for a long time (see graph C),

and is still seen today. Many people are discussing just how apparent it

is in the judicial system. While most death row inmates are white, in

comparison to blacks and hispanics, it is more likely that if a black

person kills a white person, they will receive the death penalty, than if a

white person killed a black person, or even if a black person killed a

black person.

Graph C:

(Dieter 1998)
 One argument that only few can truly relate to, is the closure of

victims families following the execution of the murderer. Many stories

state that families have more trouble letting go, of the horrific

tragedies after the execution, than they believe they would if they had

pursued life in prison for the criminal. They mention that they think

about it a lot, and also feel guilt around the topic of the execution.

Though, this is not the case for all families. A father of a daughter who
was the victim of a murder says the taxpayers footing the bill for his

housing and meals -- is punishment enough. If the correctional system

offered any college courses, the Garvins (the parents of the victim)

would pay part of the cost if Oken (the murderer) wanted to take them.

Dawn Garvin (the daughter who was murdered) never got to finish her

education at Harford Community College Dawn will never be back.

I'm not looking for closure. That's a bad misconception on the part of

some people. I want Oken to die for the murder of Dawn, Patricia Hurt

and Lori Ward" (Kane, 2008).

While none of the issues revolving around the death penalty are

invalid, referring to the graph, the public opinions show more in support

than not, and in the words of my father, it is fair to say that while the

death penalty may not deter crime, it certainly stops second offenders.
 Works Cited

Barnes, Ed. Just or Not, Cost of Death Penalty Is a Killer for State
Budgets. Fox News U.S. , Fox News , 27 Mar. 2010,
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-penalty-killer-state-
budgets.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-
penalty-killer-state-budgets.html.

Dieter, Richard C. The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives,
Who Dies, Who Decides. The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who
Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides | Death Penalty Information Center,
Death Penalty Information Center, June 1998,
deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-
dies-who-decides.
Kane, Gregory. To Murder Victims' Families, Executing Killers Is
Justice. Baltimoresun.com, The Baltimore Sun, 15 July 2008,
www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.kane05feb05-
column.html.
Executions By Year. Death Penalty Information Center, Death
Penalty Information Center, 20 Oct. 2017,
deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-year.

Jones, Jefferey M. U.S. Death Penalty Support Lowest in More Than

40 Years. Gallup.com, Gallup News, 29 Oct. 2013,
news.gallup.com/poll/165626/death-penalty-support-lowest-years.aspx.

McGuigan, Brendan, and Bronwyn Harris. What Is the Death Penalty?

WiseGEEK, Conjecture Corporation, 14 Oct. 2017,
www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-death-penalty.htm.

Tanner, Robert. Studies Say Death Penalty Deters Crime. The

Washington Post, WP Company, 11 June 2007,
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061100406.html.

Unknown. Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments - Death Penalty -

ProCon.org. Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed?, ProCon.org, 9
Dec. 2016,
deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000.

Unknown. Part I: History of the Death Penalty. Part I: History of the

Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty
Information Center, 2017, deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-
penalty#intro.

Unknown. Part II: History of the Death Penalty. Part II: History of the
Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty
Information Center, 2017, deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-ii-history-death-
penalty.