Death Penalty Paper

“In the United States, about 13,000 people have been legally executed since colonial times.” (Robinson, 2009)
The death penalty goes back to eighteenth century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. The death penalty was punishment for all crimes during this time; the method was less than humane and was carried out by drowning, crucifixion, beating to death, burning alive, or impalement. In Eleventh century A.D. William the Conqueror would not allow anyone to be hanged except in the case of murder. In the year 1608, Captain George Kendall is the first known person recorded to be executed in the colonies. In 1632, Jane Champion is the first woman to be executed in the colonies.
In the famous essay by Cesare Beccaria in 1767 On Crimes and Punishment; he theorizes that no justification can be found in taking a human life. Beccaria was very much concerned with punishment being given only when the social contract was violated to ensure others abide by the rules. Beccaria argued that criminals must be judged on not their intent but the degree of injury the criminal caused. He believed that punishment was a tool to prevent future crime from occurring. Beccaria said that crime should be prompt, public, necessary, the least possible in the given circumstance and dictated by the laws. Beccaria was in the classical school of thought and considered a contemporary in his time, he believed that criminals could control their behavior and choose not to commit crime and could be deterred.
In the late 1700’s the abolishment movement begins in the United States. (DPIC, 2009)By the early 1800’s in the United States the penitentiaries are being built and the states are reducing their number of capitol crimes. In 1834 Pennsylvania is the first state to move executions to the correctional facilities. In 1890 the first man is put to death by electrocution in Michigan. His name was William Kemmler and his lawyer did appeal citing that electrocution is cruel and unusual punishment. (DPIC, 2009)
The early 1900’s marked the beginning of the “Progressive Period” of reform in the United States. The Progressive Era was a busy time the history of our country, everyone came together to make a better society in which to live. During this period of change nine states abolished the death penalty for all crimes or strictly limit the use of the death penalty. By the 1920’s-1940 the abolishment movement was losing support in America. In 1924 cyanide gas is introduced as a form of execution. By the 1930’s executions reached an all time high in American history of about 167 executions per year. In the year 1948 The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaiming a "right to life.” (DPIC, 2009)
The death penalty was suspended during the summer of 1972, the case of Furman v. Georgia. Supreme Court effectively voids 40 death penalty statutes. The death penalty was reinstated in the 1976 case or Gregg vs. Georgia. Each state could individually decide if they wanted to practice the death penalty after this point. In 1977 Oklahoma becomes the first state to use lethal injections as a method of execution. In 1982 Charles Brooks becomes the first person put to death by lethal injection. In 1998 Karla Faye Tucker was put to death after many appeals and pleas for her sentence to be commuted to life from the pope and other religious leaders. In November of 1998 over 30 various inmates that were at one time on death row came together they had all been freed because of their innocence. The majority of these people had been freed on new evidence from new scientific techniques. (DPIC, 2009)
The Religious majorities in the United States from what I have gathered are the Catholics; they do not support the death penalty. The Judah Christian population do support the death penalty based on scripture from the Old Testament. The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Assemblies of God has not taken an official position on the death penalty. The Amish have historically been the most opposed to the death penalty.
“Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.” Exodus 20:12. “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). This should not be used to indicate that Jesus rejected capital punishment in all instances. Jesus was simply exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus into breaking the Old Testament law; they did not truly care about the woman being stoned. That is confusing to me if Jesus supported the death penalty or not.
Romans 13: 1-2 states, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” The Bible states several times that Christians are to stay out of political issues. The Bible is conflicting on the issue of death penalty in my opinion, it tells us “eye for an eye” and then “love your neighbor” this makes it hard to come to a definite conclusion regarding what the Bible supports.
In 1994, President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that expanded the federal death penalty to some 60 crimes, 3 of which do not involve murder. The exceptions are espionage, treason, and drug trafficking in large amounts.
In January of 1999 Pope John Paul II visited St. Louis Missouri and called for an end to the death penalty. Amnesty International believes that "The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state in the name of justice. It violates the right to life...It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. There can never be any justification for torture or for cruel treatment."
Most of the democratic countries in Europe and Latin America have abolished capital punishment over the last 50 years, but United States, most democracies in Asia, and almost all totalitarian governments retain it. The eighth amendment of the United States of America guarantees protection from cruel and unusual punishment and many people argue that the death penalty is cruel and unusual. In the case of Roper V Simmons the United States Supreme Court ruled that individuals under the age of 18 when a crime was committed could not receive the death penalty because in was considered cruel and unusual punishment. (Robinson, 2009)
In February of 2008 the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that electrocution could not be used because it was cruel and unusual punishment. During the process of death by electrocution, it is unknown what truly happens to the human body. I agree that electrocution is cruel and unusual punishment and should not be practiced. Benjamin Franklin said, "It is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer.” This statement makes a good point, what about those that are innocent? I realize that there may be innocent people in jail sentenced to die, and hopefully they will be cleared by evidence. The DNA evidence and different scientific evidence has progressed so much in the last decades that the judicial system can now sentence a person to the death penalty with a degree of certainty that they are guilty of their crimes. Erikson, J (2006)
In June of 2002 the landmark decision was handed down by the Supreme Court ending the execution of people whom are mentally retarded. In Atkins v. Virginia, the Court upheld it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel unusual punishment to execute death row inmates with mental retardation. (DPIC, 2009)
In the state of Arizona Between April 1962 and April 1992, no executions were performed. Six aggravating circumstances can be considered in deciding whether or not to impose a death sentence in the state of Arizona. Currently 123 inmates sit on death row in Arizona, 86 are Caucasian. Of the 123 inmates on death row only two are female. A total of 23 inmates have been executed in Arizona since 1992.
My recommendation as a consultant to the Department of Justice in the state of Arizona is to continue to use the death penalty. I find that the death penalty is a 100% effective guarantee that the sentenced criminal will not commit crime again. Death penalty would be more of an effective deterrent to other criminals if the sentence was carried out in a timelier manner.

The death penalty provides incapacitation, justice, and deterrence. I recommend that the steps to shorten the appeal time be taken and make the death penalty be a swift punishment. Some may argue that the death penalty in unconstitutional, I disagree. The eighth amendment states that citizens of the United States of America are protected from cruel and unusual punishment.
This is not a valid argument in my opinion because the constitution assumes lawfulness on the part of the citizen; this means that if one is obeying the laws most likely won’t end up in the defendant’s seat. The methods of carrying out the death penalty are quite humane. The death penalty offers a permanent guarantee that the convicted criminal will never escape or murder prison staff or fellow inmates. There have only been 8 people freed in the state of Arizona from death row, and this did not mean they were innocent specifically, just that they were no longer sentenced to death.
The benefits of the death penalty far outweigh the negative aspects. Death penalty being carried out lastly provides the victim’s family with closure and end to the ongoing appeals process. I predict that the death penalty will be around for many years to come and will grow more efficient being carried out. Society may never agree that the death penalty is right to carry out, but is a means to an end.