Brittany Divver

12/2/16

The Evolution of the Capital Punishment

From being the most common type of punishment to being declared unconstitutional, to

the middle ground we have in the United States today, the death penalty has been through many

phases throughout human history. Whether you favor this controversial topic or not, all can agree

its not a black and white, right or wrong decision. Many argue an eye for an eye but other can

argue the famous words judge not lest ye be judged and let the one without sin cast the first

stone. The capital punishment has had its peak over the centuries. With taste for executions

souring in the 1900s due to new value changes and the differing interpretations of the eighth

amendment, no cruel and unusual punishment, capital punishment has had some big shifts in

how the pubic saw the issue and methods of administration.

From the first laws ever written, the death penalty was included with intense detail. Code

of Hammurabi stated 25 crimes punishable by death like cheating on your wife or husband or

helping a slave escape. Most surprisingly; however, murder was not one of the 25 crimes

punishable by death. The capital punishment was so common and the executions were done so

publicly that it considered a social event to attend, and sometimes even participant in it like

throwing stones at the convicted. Even women and children were common attenders as well. The

first recorded critics of such events was part of the quote above, came from the bible. In the

story, Jesus spoke out against the people preparing to throw stones at an adulteress who was

being sentenced for her crimes. He put in perspective, the idea that no one has the right to

determine the fate of someones life based off their crimes when the punisher is not pure of sin

themselves. His story opened a lot of eyes to the problems with the death penalty and gave the
first steps towards our modern day criminal justice system. As western civilization took claim to

the spreading of Christianity, the teachings of the bible shaped many peoples mind about the

convicted. A shift of the opinion on the delegation of the capital punishment began to emerge. A

more modern civilization began to develop, but this did not save the fate of Jesus Christ who

publicly executed himself.

While looking into what caused the shift in the societys opinion of the death penalty, I

researched a lot on the changing methods. The biggest invention of the 1700s was the guillotine

used very commonly to execute said traders of the state during the French revolution. This was

very favored in the eyes of those not personally affected and disliked by the victims families.

This contraption was said to be less painful death than hanging. However, Id say it was far from

humane. The guillotine beheaded its victims and when the head was cut off, the executioner

would display the head for the crowd to see. As one can see the method was very far from

humane no matter the pain level. During this time, the death penalty was still largely favored.

This time was called the Reign of Terror where 40,000 people were executed by the guillotine in

less than a year due to various crimes of treason. This form of capital punishment was a

dangerous power and eventually led the queen and king of France to be sentenced to death. New

iconic inventions came later with gas chambers, electric chair, firing squad, and the most modern

lethal injection. Every one of them evolved with modern technology and values.

After touching on the differing methods of the eras, in conclusion the shift in the opinion

on the capital punishment had nothing to do with the new inventions of the time. What really

changed was societies value on human rights, such as revenge and power. The first step to this

changed value occurred in the United States when the Bill of Rights was enacted in the

constitution, guaranteeing the rights of certain freedoms as human beings of the United States of
America. The most relevant amendment to the death penalty was the eighth, which stated

excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual

punishments inflicted. The most important part and controversial part is the no cruel and

unusual punishments statement. You can argue continuously argue one side or the other that

capital punishment is considered a cruel and unmoral punishment, but the fact is that capital

punishment was still being used even after the addition of the Bill of Rights. The founding

fathers didnt believe it to be cruel and unusual. Are the founders all knowing? No, however you

cant argue that the founders believed it to be interpreted that way. If arguing this, what matters is

how capital punishment was applied. Values change as society makes important other things in

life and thus, changes how legislation is applied.

On June 29, 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional as it

was being currently used and overturned over six hundred death sentences. This was a huge shift

from the common use of the punishment to its complete prohibition. However, this didnt last

long, and four years later the US Supreme Court overturned that ruling. Death penalties were

reintroduced to the criminal justice system. This time around, it required way more regulation on

what criminals deserved the death penalty, the methods you were allowed to use when carrying

out an execution, and who could not be executed, such as those under sixteen, the mentally

retarded, and the insane. These restrictions were put in place based on the publics view of

human rights and the growing dislike of the death penalty. To make things worse for capital

punishment supporters, a study in November of 1987 proved that 350 people who were

sentenced to death between 1900-1985 were actually innocent. Later with DNA evidence, even

more people who had been sentenced to capital punishment in the past were proven to be

innocent. This only pushed the death penalty critics to act out, and one after the other, states
individually voted capital punishment unconstitutional. Today, eighteen states have outlawed the

practice of this punishment in their criminal justice system.

After the 18 states that outlawed the sentence, it still leaves 32 states that allow the death

penalty to be issued in their courts. Oklahoma and Virginia have two of the highest rates of

issued capital punishments between the time when the death penalty was reinstated to 2010.

Oklahoma was at 92 executed inmates and Virginia had 106 executed inmates. Neither came

close to Texas, which had 452 inmates executed between the reinstatement in 1976 and 2010.

Texas Governor George W. Bush executed about 150 men and women in five years. He received

a summary of each case before it processed and only ever granted one clemency. Growing up in

Texas, I can tell that the feelings on this topic are very different depending where you are from.

The South has had 1,142 executed inmates. The Midwest has had 172 executed inmates. The

West has had 85 executed inmates. The Northeast has had 4 executed inmates. Out of all those

put together, only 11 of them were women. All of these statistics are since 1976, and as you can

see theres big difference based on geographical location and gender. The values and mentality of

the country are two totally different talking points. Values are shared pretty commonly

throughout the US, but the application of those values are very wide spread. Though, no matter

who you talk to, the capital punishment is agreeably nothing like it was before the 1800s.

A poll done by the Death Penalty Information Center shows that the publics preferred

punishment for murder is life in prison without parole and restitution at 39% and then the death

penalty is 33% preferred. The use of the death penalty punishment has had a dramatic decrease

since 2000. In 2014, only 72 people were sentenced to the death penalty. Opposition was at an

all-time high in 1965 at 47% and favor for the death penalty was at an all-time high at 80% in

1995 and has drastically fallen since. It is now favored at 49% and opposed at 44%. Interestingly
enough even though executions have dropped in the US, internationally death sentences were up

54%. In 2015, 1,634 inmates were put to death in 25 countries with three countries accounting as

89% of them. Iran alone put 977 inmates to death for mostly drug related charges. China isnt

counted in these statistics because they dont release their information on death sentences in the

country. Scholars have estimated around 2,400 executions in China a year because its always

been a popular punishment in their culture, and the Chinese government is known for their

strictness. So maybe I should amend my finding that there was a shift in the death penalty culture

since ancient times. The western world has shifted the role of the capital punishment in their

criminal justice systems because of the new importance on human rights; however in countries,

like those located in the middle east there has not really been a shift at all, and I can only

speculate that its different interpretation of the rights humans should have.

The last public execution in the United States was on August 14, 1936 in Owensboro,

Kentucky. 20,000 people came to watch and they named the event Carnival in Owensboro. The

last execution by hanging in the United States was on January 25, 1996 in Delaware. Bill

Baileywas convicted of double-murder, The last execution by gas chamber in the US was given

to Walter LaGrand on March 3, 1999. He refused, twice, lethal injection and chose the gas

chamber in a form to protest the death penalty because he was from Germany where the death

penalty was and still is outlawed. The last execution by firing squad in the United States was on

June 18, 2010. Killer Ronnie Lee Gardner chose firing squad because it was more humane

than lethal injection. They put a bag over his head and a paper target on his chest. With a five-

person firing squad, they took aim at him and shot. Methods still used in the United States are

lethal injection and the electric chair. Today there are 2,905 men and women on death row.

California has the most at 741 inmates on death row and has gotten in trouble with the US
Supreme Court for holding so many on death row and for not following through on the death

sentence. Judge Cormac J. Carney noted in 2014 that more than 900 people have been

sentenced to death in California since 1978 but only 13 have been executed. They said this was

unconstitutional. Florida currently has 396 on death row. Texas has 254 on death row; Alabama,

194; and Pennsylvania, 175, to name a few. All together only 55 of 2,905 inmates on death row

today are women. The death penalty would seem to be coming to a close in the United States

Is it an eye for an eye or one without sin to cast the first stone? In the United States, we

give this question for the states to decide and its clear that there is no easy right and wrong,

considering the difference in each and every states legislation. This might never be truly

answered, but its principle definitely has shifted with the values of the public. Today, the capital

punishment in America is only for the worst offenses. Only murder and treason can be

punishable by death. States are still switching around if they are in favor of the capital

punishment or not. Nevada, this year, voted for it to be considered constitutional while this year,

Delaware voted for the death penalty to be unconstitutional. Public opinion is constantly

changing, and the next generation will soon take over and decide what the next change will be.