The History of Capital Punishment
The death penalty has been one of the hottest topics in the country over the past 50 years. Throughout time, the use of execution as a form of punishment has been prevalent. It is seen to be the “ultimate punishment” as a result of a capital offense. It was not always this way though. As the country grew, viewpoints on the topic changed rapidly. The death penalty is something that has wreaked havoc on this country for hundreds of years. No one knows how many innocent people have been executed in this time. It may have brought justice to some people, but the fact that there is not always a positive way to see if someone is guilty makes the practice questionable.
The first American settlers brought this practice with them from Europe, where it had been in place for hundreds of years. As a matter of fact, only a few months after the colony of Jamestown was founded in 1607, George Kendall was executed. He was accused of being a Spanish spy (What’s new). From this point on, executions in the United States began increasing. From this point until 1946, the total number of times the death penalty was implemented grew to 17,130 plus. During this period of time, the highest volume of executions was from 1926 to 1945, with a total of 2991. Over this 19-year time span, that comes to 2.9 per week. This was the highest this figure has been in our history as a country. One of the biggest factors leading to this was race, specifically the lynching of African Americans in the south. Prior to 1946, close to 50 percent of all executions in America were performed on African Americans. White Americans accounted for nearly 40 percent, but because they made up most of the population the percentage of white people executed was low. This shows how biased the application of the death penalty has been in the United States. In the 1700’s, the number of African Americans that came to America was increasing rapidly. At this point, for every white person executed, six black people were executed. This ratio continually increased and eventually became 10 to 1 during the years from 1935 to 1945 (Davis). African Americans have historically suffered at the hands of America as victims of the death penalty. The fact that blacks were faced with this much adversity, solely because of their skin color, seems out of place. A valid point can be made that they may have been the ones committing a large number of these crimes, but it is likely that they were targeted without reason.
The first American settlers brought this practice with them from Europe, where it had been in place for hundreds of years. As a matter of fact, only a few months after the colony of Jamestown was founded in 1607, George Kendall was executed. He was accused of being a Spanish spy (What’s new). From this point on, executions in the United States began increasing. From this point until 1946, the total number of times the death penalty was implemented grew to 17,130 plus. During this period of time, the highest volume of executions was from 1926 to 1945, with a total of 2991. Over this 19-year time span, that comes to 2.9 per week. This was the highest this figure has been in our history as a country. One of the biggest factors leading to this was race, specifically the lynching of African Americans in the south. Prior to 1946, close to 50 percent of all executions in America were performed on African Americans. White Americans accounted for nearly 40 percent, but because they made up most of the population the percentage of white people executed was low. This shows how biased the application of the death penalty has been in the United States. In the 1700’s, the number of African Americans that came to America was increasing rapidly. At this point, for every white person executed, six black people were executed. This ratio continually increased and eventually became 10 to 1 during the years from 1935 to 1945 (Davis). African Americans have historically suffered at the hands of America as victims of the death penalty. The fact that blacks were faced with this much adversity, solely because of their skin color, seems out of place. A valid point can be made that they may have been the ones committing a large number of these crimes, but it is likely that they were targeted without reason.
Originally, there were hundreds of crimes that were considered capital offenses. Things like petty theft and robbery were grounds for execution. However, as the number of executions kept rising, the amount of crimes that were considered to be capital offenses began decreasing. The amounts of capital crimes continually went down and the focus began to be on crimes of a lethal nature, like murder. These changes showed the start of things beginning to change for legislature regarding capital punishment (Davis). Originally, each colony had it’s own laws concerning the death penalty. Following all that had been happening throughout these times, people began changing their point of view on the topic. Specifically in the 19th century, the abolitionist movement about capital punishment began to take hold in America. Capital offenses continued to decrease and more focus was put into constructing jails and considering the option of life imprisonment as opposed to execution. Capital punishment started becoming more controlled by the state. For example, in 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state to start performing their executions behind closed doors instead of in front of the public as most had usually been. Following this, certain states even began to get rid of the death penalty completely, like Michigan in 1846 and then Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Responding to this, entire countries started doing the same, such as Brazil, the Netherlands, and Portugal, among others. Although many states were getting rid of this practice, others were still adding capital offenses against the flow of the rest of the country, namely for slaves. As the Civil War came around, much of the focus of the people began to shift to these problems instead of being worried about the use of the death penalty. After this temporary hiatus, the people started right back where they left off and were pushing again for a reform of these laws (What’s new).
The 20th century was the beginning of the real reform of these laws. From 1930 to 1940, the United States averaged 167 executions per year, the highest of any decade since the founding of the country. Everything began to change even more drastically beginning in 1950. Executions were decreasing radically and public awareness regarding capital punishment increased drastically. Throughout the 40’s, there was a stunning 1,289 executions in America. The following decade, that number was cut almost in half to 715 executions. Even more astonishing, in the 16 years from 1960 to 1976, there were only 191 executions (What’s new). People were finally starting to realize the effect of this practice. Families have been torn apart by capital punishment. There is no reason to take someone’s given right to life, even if they have committed a serious crime.
The 20th century was the beginning of the real reform of these laws. From 1930 to 1940, the United States averaged 167 executions per year, the highest of any decade since the founding of the country. Everything began to change even more drastically beginning in 1950. Executions were decreasing radically and public awareness regarding capital punishment increased drastically. Throughout the 40’s, there was a stunning 1,289 executions in America. The following decade, that number was cut almost in half to 715 executions. Even more astonishing, in the 16 years from 1960 to 1976, there were only 191 executions (What’s new). People were finally starting to realize the effect of this practice. Families have been torn apart by capital punishment. There is no reason to take someone’s given right to life, even if they have committed a serious crime.