Capital Punishment: The Legal Punishment of a CriminalCapital punishment is what I consider , the legal punishment of acriminal. Capital punishment has been used as a form of punishment for manyyears. At modern time, capital punishment is more controlled.
Although, whencapital punishment is mentioned it brings shivers down the back of most ofsociety. Being it is a factor of death, capital punishment , should not betaken so lightly. The term capital does not represent or signify any ideas in the negativeaspect. Capital is defined as first or foremost; first rate or excellent. Punishment, on the other hand, is defined as the rough handling or penalizationfor a wrong doing. Neither of these terms, when mentioned individually signifyanything in the negative aspect.
Although when these two terms are combinedthere is alot more meaning to them than just excellent or penalization. Thesenow strictly signify, death. Capital punishment has been a form of disciplining since 1750 B. C.
,when it was part of the code of Hammarabi. The bible itself, also prescribesdeath as a penalty for any of thirty crimes committed. The crimes ranged fromany between murder and fornication. In the 18th century more than two hundredcapital crimes were recognized, and as a result over one thousand people a yearwere faced with the sentence of death.
Now at modern time, the death penalty, has been rekindled. Although,it is not as barbaric as it was. Now the law only allows itself the usecertain types of disciplining. In the early 18th and 19th century the deathpenalty was inflicted in many ways. Some ways were, crucifixion, boiling in oil,drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearingasunder, stoning and drowning.
In the late 19th century the types ofpunishments were limited and only a few of them remained permissible by law. In the 19th century capital punishment was to only be inflicted by the followingmethods: hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber, firing squad and lethalinjection. The opinions brought upon us stating that the death penalty is a verystrong deterrent against crime holds allot of water. It is a proven statisticalfact that states that have reinstated and now enforce the death penalty show nodifference in their crime and murder rate.
In some cases, states that do imposethe death penalty have a higher crime rate than the states that do not imposethis disciplinary action. Whosoever shed man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed(Genesis9:6). With this statement from Genesis, some people could almost feel as ifthey are doing something religious. In the use of the death penalty theconcern of executing the innocent remains abroad. The death penalty has alsobeen known for being used in unfair ways. For instance, women are rarelysentenced to death, although twenty percent of homicides are committed bywomen.
Also, an inappropriate number of non-whites have been executed. In the20th century, when the death penalty was used for rape, no white men wereexecuted for raping a non-white women whereas most black offenders who rapedwhite women were executed. As a person against capital punishment, I feel more thought should beplaced on a matter that involves taking someone’s life. In my mind and themind of many others the death penalty will always remain defined as disciplinary execution.
