Capital Punishment

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

and Latin-American nations, have
abolished the death penalty since 1900 - including Canada, which did so in 1976.
In the early 1990's, the United States was the only Western industrialized
nation where executions still took place.

History

Capital punishment was common among all ancient civilizations. It was used
for a variety of offenses that today aren't crimes at all, like stealing the
keys to someone's wine cellar.
There were many different methods of executions, and they all had a
barbaric quality. Some of the more vicious methods were stoning, impaling,
boiling in oil, burned alive, and being stretched on the rack.
One of the most notorious ways of executions was being beheaded by a
guillotine. This machine, invented by Joseph Ignace Guillotin (1738-1814),
became the official instrument of execution in France during the French
Revolution. It dropped a huge knife that cut off the victim's head. It was
regarded as quick and merciful. The guillotine was used ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

because it had the ability to save
one's neck. Most offenders learned this verse by heart. It wasn't long before
this benefit became meaningless.
As a result, executions in this century averaged only 70 per year.
In the year 1819, the number of capital crimes was reduced to 220,
including shoplifting items above five shillings, cutting down trees in a park,
or shooting a rabbit.
Many capital crime offenders were pardoned on the condition that they
agreed to be transported to the american colonies in North America. American
colonies at that time also used capital punishment. The number of capital
crimes varied from one jurisdiction to another. The Massachusetts colony ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: