History Of Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is given to the criminals who offend the law of the country and are given to various crimes of serious nature. In the ancient times, this punishment was given in various ways, including crucifixion, torturing and piercing the body with a sharp edged object, burning, beating and submerging the criminals to death. |
Capital punishment was first recorded in the 18th century B.C in Babylon during the reign of King Hammaurabi. In the records of Hittite Code and Draconian Code, the punishment was the only punishment given to any crime that took place and they considered that when crimes are punished severely, anyone daring to do any evil act would be greatly reduced.
Though the hanging method of death penalty was practiced in Britain in the tenth century, it was not encouraged by William the Conqueror to kill anyone except in war. But in the 16th century, Henry VIII used many methods like boiling, burning, beheading, and hanging to perform executions.
In Britain, by the 1700s many were punished by death for simple reasons like theft, or cutting down trees. So, this brought the reformation of capital punishment. The Europeans introduced the death penalty to every other world where they settled. Even in America, the death penalty was given for small crimes. The Massachusetts Bay Colony and New York Colony considered hitting parents and not believing in the true God as offense and those who performed these offenses were sentenced to death.
The essays of Cesare Beccaria on ‘On Crimes and Punishment’ in 1767 brought serious revolution across the globe to do away with capital punishment which brought the cessation of the same in Austria and Tuscany. This impacted many other countries and in America, it was decided that the death sentences be given only to the first degree murder.
Pennsylvania took steps in 1834 to conduct executions very privately and the public was not allowed to see them. After few years, Michigan sentenced death penalty only for treason and taken away the punishment for all other crimes. The death penalty was abolished in many of the countries following Michigan’s abolition of the same.
Though sentencing to death for simple crimes subsided, it was only after the mid twentieth century, there was a progression in the reformation of death penalty and decreased greatly in numbers. There were some modifications brought in performing execution, like the usage of electric chair, lethal gas and the injecting toxic substances.
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History Of Capital Punishment
Capital punishments ranged from stoning to crucifixion, shooting by firing squads, electrocution, asphyxiation with gas, injecting lethal drug, beheading, or hanging. These have all been evolved over many years of human existence by systems meant for guarding justice. In the US, capital punishment is implemented by injecting lethal drugs which will stop the heartbeat or breathing of the accused. 
