History of Capital Punishment
Execution is a common punishment throughout the world for cruel and unspeakable acts of violence and acts of rage. The cruelest form of execution is hard to say because there are many different forms of execution. Execution dates back to the middle ages. It was used for a large number of crimes including petty offenses involving property. Most death sentences involved torture, such as burning at the stake, breaking on the wheel, and strangulation.
Burning at the stake was a popular death sentence and means of torture, used mostly for witches and suspicious women. Burning dates back to the Christian era, where, in 643, an edict declared it illegal to burn witches. The increased persecution of witches throughout the centuries resulted in millions of women being burned at the stake. Burning at the stake as a punishment for witches came to North America, where, in the famous Salem Witch Trials of 1692, twenty people were burned. The last legal execution by burning at the stake came with the end of the Spanish Inquisition in 1834.
The wheel as a method of torture and execution could be used in a number of ways. A person could be attached to the outer rim of the wheel and then rolled over sharp spikes, or down a hill, to their death. Also, the wheel could be laid on its side, like a turntable, with the person tied to it. The wheel would turn, and people would take turns beating the victim with iron bars, breaking bones and eventually causing death.
In 1789, when Dr. Joseph Guillotin proposed that all criminals be executed by the same method and that torture should be kept to a minimum. Decapitation was thought to be the least painful and most humane method of execution at the time. The first execution by guillotine took place in 1792The last official use came in 1977 in France, and the device has not officially been used since.
Hanging was a popular way of executing people. The prisoner could simply be hanged with a noose, fracturing the neck. The Garotte was also a popular method of torture, and similar to hanging. A mechanical device such as a rack or a gag would be tightened around the person's neck, causing slow strangulation, stretching.
At the beginning of the era, punishments were decided by individuals or their families. This led to punishments were the quantity and quality did not match the significance of the crimes committed. Eventually, proportionate punishment was created, and left to the community, or whoever enforced the law. The reason for their extreme punishments, like execution or banishment on people was because they thought it would make other people refrain from breaking the law. However, studies have been shown that making punishments very harsh did not help much at all, if any (“Punishment”). Some of the most common severe punishments included hanging, burning, the pillory, whipping, branding, starvation in front of the public, and cutting off parts of the body. They also used items such as the scold’s bridle, which was an iron muzzle placed over the head and had a metal piece that stuck in the person’s mouth. The drunkard’s cloak was a type of pillory used on people who became drunk. Overall, most punishments that did not involve anything too serious were normally shameful to the criminal by placing them in front of the public. Some of the minor punishments included being carried in a cart through the streets, and riding backwards on a horse. The pillory was probably the most used prop for punishment, because it varied in intensity, such as getting the criminals ears nailed to the pillory itself. In that time period, they had specific punishments for certain offences. Some of these specifics included stealing anything over 5 pence led to being hanged. Also, the punishment for poaching varied based on the time of day. “Poaching at night resulted in the punishment by death, whereas poaching during the day time did not” (Alchin). Another major form of punishment used was imprisonment. At that time, prisons were very unsanitary and many diseases were
The Tudor era, from 1485-1603, still had excruciating punishments towards criminals. They were intended to prevent others from committing the crimes. Public executions were very common during the Tudor era, and extremely popular. Beheading was a common for those who committed treason, and even for not complying with the correct religion. They were usually publically displayed, and attracted many crowds who had no entertainment, despite the true purpose of public executions. This expresses not only the views of physical pain and death to deter people, but also the entertainment that people had for seeing the death of people.
The death penalty dates all the way back to Eighteenth Century B.C.. It was codified in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon and it was used as punishment for 25 different types of crimes. It was also a part of the Hittie Code in Fourteenth Century B.C., the Draconian Code of Athens, the Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets, and in Tenth Century B.C. in Britain. The death sentence was carried out in various ways including, drowning, burning alive, crucifixion, beating and hanging (Death Penalty Information Center, 2014).
Capital punishment has been around in the United States since the early 1600s; it was a penalty for breaking common law. It was enforced in the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence being written. The first recorded death sentence was in 1608, given to Captain George Kendall, who was executed by firing squad (Capital Punishment in the United States). In earlier times, the method of execution was immensely gruesome. Death by burning, stoning and crushing are just a few examples of how brutal the death sentences could be. Majority of Americans throughout history have always supported the death penalty, but as time has gone on, the number of Americans in favor of the death penalty has dropped.
The guillotine made people die a lot faster. Before there was even a guillotine, people would be executed in numerous, horrible ways. In the 5th century with the Romans, “Death was often cruel and included
they believed in a lot of different punishment they used to hang a person ,put themin the electric chair
“I personally have always voted for the death penalty because I believe that people who go out prepared to take the lives of other people forfeit their own right to live. I believe that the death penalty should be used only very rarely, but I believe that no-one should go out certain that no matter how cruel, how vicious, how hideous their murder, they themselves will not suffer the death penalty.”
Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.
There were many different types of weird and absurd punishments used in the Renaissance. Most of these punishments targeted the body of the victim while most punishments used today are aimed to get into the criminal's mind. One of the most common punishments used was flogging. A flog consisted of leather thongs attached to a handle, used almost just like a whip. Victims of flogging were often punished in public too
There are several horrific punishment methods and devices put in place during the revolution, though the most commonly known is the guillotine. History.com says, “Over some 200 years of use, the guillotine claimed the heads of tens of thousands of victims ranging from common criminals to revolutionaries, aristocrats and even kings and queens” (Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 15 Sep. 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.). The guillotine takes the lives of many, and affects the families of the one it takes. While the gullone was scary for the victim, it was also used as entertainment for many. Often people watched and cheered as the guillotine executed its next victim. History.com says, “Children often attended guillotine executions, and some may have even played with their own miniature guillotines at home” (Andrews, Evan. "8 Things You May Not Know About the Guillotine." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 15 Sep. 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.). Often the gullone is used as entertainment as people and even children watch the victim lose their head. The guillotine is a major punishment for aristocrats, revolutionaries, and even normal
In America there are 5 methods of execution. First is lethal injection, where the inmate is injected with 3 different types of drugs that ultimately lead the victim into a cardiac arrest. Second is electrocution, where the inmate is literally shocked to death by electricity. Third is the gas chamber, where the inmate in killed by deadly toxins. Fourth is hanging, where a rope is tied around the inmates neck and they are strangled to death.
Several other punishments of the medieval period were also rather gruesome. If you were charged with treason, but you were a noble person otherwise, you were to be simply hanged and buried. If you committed murder, and were found guilty of attempted murder, you’d be tied up, near the scene of the crime and left to starve to death. If you were convicted of a successful murder, you’d be hung for a little while, have your hands cut off, and then led to where you’d be executed. Rouges were to be sent to the stockades and whipped, anyone who disturbed the peace were to be continuously du...
Capital Punishment is defined as the legal infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty is corporal punishment in its most severe form and is used instead of life long imprisonment. Putting people to death that have committed extremely terrible crimes is an ancient practice, but it has become a very controversial issue in today's society. Capital punishment has been used for centuries, even the Bible contains over thirty stories or incidents about a person put to death for a crime they committed. Public executions stopped after 1936. The death penalty has been inflicted in many different ways. Today in the United States, there are five ways that the death penalty is performed. These criminals are put to death by a lethal injection, electrocution, lynching, a firing squad, or the gas chamber. These punishments are much less severe than the forms of execution in the past. In the past, people were executed by crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearing, stoning, and even drowning. The methods used today compared to those of history are not meant for torture but instead for punishment for heinous crimes and to rid the earth of these dangerous people. The majority of America supports the death penalty.
Capital punishment is the death penalty, or execution which is the sentence of death upon a person by judicial process as a punishment for a crime like murdering another human and being found guilty by a group of jurors who have listen to a court hearing were the District Attorney and the defendant argue their sides of the case. Historical penalties include boiling to death, flaying, disembowelment, crucifixion, crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, execution by burning, dismemberment.(2008) The U.S., begin using the electric chair and the gas chamber as more humane execution then hanging, then moved to lethal injection, which in has been criticized for being too painful. Some countries still choose to use hanging, and beheading by sword or even stoning.
Capital punishment, or otherwise known as the death penalty, is death sentenced upon a person by the state as a punishment for a crime. These crimes are known as capital crimes or capital offenses. Capital punishment has been practiced in many societies; now 58 nations practice the death penalty, while 97 nations have abolished it. In the past, it was common for the ruling party to make the offender known throughout the community for his or her criminal act. Thus, if the community were made aware of the consequences for breaking the laws, the crime rate would reduce. Such criminal penalties included: boiling to death, disembowelment, crucifixion and many more. As time went on the movement towards more humane treatments took hold. In the US, the electric chair and gas chambers were introduced but have been almost entirely superseded by lethal injection. Nevertheless, capital punishment has been a part of human history and will always continue to be a controversy and a debate. (Bedau)