Capital Punishment

Among the first people to be executed were the so-called witches within the colonies. These executions became known as the Salem Witch trials. When the trials between May and October 1692 were over, there were about twenty people that were sentenced to die. According to the English law many offenses were punishable by death. Most included property crimes and such other non-violent crimes. Robbery, extortion, arson and pick pocketing were all punishable by death. In Massachusetts there were only thirteen crimes punishable by death which include; cursing, adultery, lying under oath, praying to idols, etc. Throughout the colonies Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York kept the death penalty while in others they opposed and abolished the law. Michigan was the first state to do away with capital punishment. After that the states followed although Maine teeter tottered until 1887, when the law was abolished. Many years passed and states went back and forth on whether or not to keep or discard the death penalty. Some discarded it while other kept it and limited the number of crimes punishable by death. Since May 1995, 38 out of the 50 states had capital punishment laws.

The ongoing debate about capital punishment is a tug of war. When crime declines the need for death penalty declines and when crime increases the need also increases. It’s all a matter of our social situation. Statistics show that by 2001 the 80 percent of supporters declined to a 65 percent and went even lower in 2002. From 1990 to 2000 the number of people sentenced to die was a good 3,550 the number of people executed was highest in 1930’s to the 1940’s.

In 1994, as part of the crime bill, the federal death penalty was expanded to some 60 different offenses. Some of the federal crimes for which people in any state or United Sates territory can receive a death sentence are, murder, kidnapping resulting in death, fatal drive-by shootings, sexual abuse crimes resulting in death, car jacking resulting in death, and crimes not resulting in death, such as running a large-scale drug endeavor. Below are some statistics taken from another source.*

Since 1988, the federal government has authorized seeking the death penalty against 211 defendants. Of the 211 approved prosecutions, 158 (75%) were against minority defendants. Of these defendants, 53 have been white, 39 Hispanic, 12 Asian/Indian/Pacific Islander, 2 Arab and 105 African American.