Death Penalty
THE DEATH PENALTY
Imagine waking up one morning and deciding to kill all your classmates at gun point for no apparent reason. At the scene, you were arrested and charged with genocide. You were found guilty and as your punishment you are sentenced to the death penalty; even though, it was your first offense. Wouldn’t you think that putting someone in prison for life would be much more reasonable for their first offence instead of sentencing them to the death penalty? Well, here are some interesting facts about the death penalty.
HISTORY OF THE DEATH PENALTY:
The first death penalty law was established in the Eighth Century B.C. in the code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. When European settlers came to America, they brought the practice of capital punishment. The first recorded execution is of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. The first attempted reforms of the death penalty in the U.S occurred when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia’s death penalty laws. The bill proposed that capital punishment be used only for crimes of murder and treason. In the early mid-nineteenth century, many states reduced the number of their capital crimes and built state penitentiaries. In 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state to move executions away from the public eye and carrying them out in correctional facilities. The electric chair was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century and New York was the first state to build its first chair in 1888. William Kemmler was the first male to be executed in 1890. In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced and Gee Jon was the first person executed by lethal gas. Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection and Charles brooks became the first person executed by lethal injection in Texas on December
Imagine waking up one morning and deciding to kill all your classmates at gun point for no apparent reason. At the scene, you were arrested and charged with genocide. You were found guilty and as your punishment you are sentenced to the death penalty; even though, it was your first offense. Wouldn’t you think that putting someone in prison for life would be much more reasonable for their first offence instead of sentencing them to the death penalty? Well, here are some interesting facts about the death penalty.
HISTORY OF THE DEATH PENALTY:
The first death penalty law was established in the Eighth Century B.C. in the code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. When European settlers came to America, they brought the practice of capital punishment. The first recorded execution is of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. The first attempted reforms of the death penalty in the U.S occurred when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia’s death penalty laws. The bill proposed that capital punishment be used only for crimes of murder and treason. In the early mid-nineteenth century, many states reduced the number of their capital crimes and built state penitentiaries. In 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state to move executions away from the public eye and carrying them out in correctional facilities. The electric chair was introduced at the end of the nineteenth century and New York was the first state to build its first chair in 1888. William Kemmler was the first male to be executed in 1890. In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced and Gee Jon was the first person executed by lethal gas. Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection and Charles brooks became the first person executed by lethal injection in Texas on December
Cited: “Capital Punishment in California: facts.” Wikipedia—The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. “Capital Punishment in the United States: legal process.” Wikipedia—The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. “History of the Death Penalty: Introduction to the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. 2012 Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 19 Apr. 2012 “Issues: Frequently Asked Questions about the cost of California’s Death Penalty.” ACLU of Northern California. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. “Top 10 Arguments Against the Death Penalty.” The Ultimate Punishment. 2012 The Ultimate Punishment. Web. 19 Apr. 2012