The Death Penalty and Its Effect On Homicide

History of the Death Penalty

When British settlers came to the new world , they brought with them the practice of capital punishment . In 1608 , Captain George Kendall of Jamestown accused of being a spy for Spain was the first recorded execution . The Divine , Moral and Marital Laws enacted by Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale , in 1612 , imposed the death penalty for trifling offenses , such as stealing grapes , killing chickens and trading with the Indians

Capital Punishment laws varied from colony to colony , similar to today , which is from state to state

. Massachusetts Bay Colony 's first execution was in 1630 , even though death penalty laws of the New England Colonies did not go into effect until years later . New York Colony had Duke 's Laws of 1665 , which added striking your mother or father , or denying the true God ' punishable by death

Early executions were public , held in town squares , where large crowds would gather to watch . Executions moved indoors and out of public view , once penitentiaries started to be built , in 1834 . During the Civil War , some states began to reform laws and abolish the death penalty , in favor of life in prison . Then during the first half of the 20th century , public support for Capital Punishment grew . Capital Punishment has been a controversial issue for centuries (DPIC , 2007

The 1930 's saw the highest level of executions to date , an average of 167 people was put to death each year . In l960 public support waned again and the legality of the death penalty itself was challenged . In l972 , the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that ?ividual states found ways to amend their Death Penalty laws to make them legal

Throughout the inception of the Death Penalty , in the Colonies various methods of execution have been used burning , pressing gibbeting (hanging by chains ) and the most common , hanging . Currently five methods are used in the U .S lethal injection , electrocution , gas chambers . hanging and firing squad . From 1976 to September 2007 , out of 1098 executions , 928 have been from lethal injection 154 by electrocution 11 by the gas chamber 3 by hanging and 2 by firing squads . Lethal injection has become the standard method

Rob Gallagher , in his informative article , Before the Needle highlights the percentage of executions and methods by decades

1608-1708 : 34 for murder 86 hanged

1709-1808 : 31 for murder 91 hanged

1808-1908 66 for murder 96 hanged

1909-1991 56 for murder 64 electrocuted

Capital Punishment is currently imposed on so few convicted murderers (less than one percent ) that some defense attorneys call it cruel and unusual ' punishment . The penalty is legal in 38 states . Texas Virginia , Oklahoma , Missouri and Delaware have the highest

rates of executions , accounting for 60 of the nations to 2003 ?ough the closed kitchen door from the outside , as he was trying to escape , killed the homeowner . Furman 's versiion at his trial , helped convict him of first-degree murder . He said , They got me charged with murder and I admit , I...