Katie Ontiveros

Professor Solomon

English 2010

November 29, 2017

Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the legal authorization of

executing someone as a punishment for committing specific crimes. The death penalty has held a

place in history as far back as we can trace history. It is in the Code of King Hammaurabi of

Babylon, the Hittite Code, the Draconian Code of Athens, and the Roman Law of the Twelve

Tablets. Some ancient texts state that it was strictly the shedding of blood that made up for

crimes, which means that it did not have to be the criminals blood being shed (McGuigan &

Bronwyn, 2017). The manner in which a person was executed had to be painful. Drawing and

quartering, flaying alive, or burning were not uncommon practices in Medieval Europe or in

much of the rest of the world. Other common means of execution included boiling alive,

dismemberment, and crucifixion (McGuigan & Bronwyn, 2017).

Britain, under Henry VIII, was known to have executed over 72,000 people for their

crimes, and it only got worse. Crimes punishable by death were as ridiculous as cutting down a

tree. The European settlers brought the death penalty to America, and in 1612, Virginia

Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the

death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with
Indians (Unknown, 2017). Movements in the 18th century lead to more ideal punishments such

as hanging to break the neck rather than to strangle, which then brought about the more recent

methods of execution such as the electric chair, firing squad, and lethal injection.

There have been many famous cases between people and states regarding the

amendments and the constitutionality of their punishments. Most of these cases furthered the

development of a constitutionally and morally correct judicial system regarding capital crimes

and their punishments. One of the most famous cases, Gregg v. Georgia, resulted in what is

known as the Gregg Decision. This was a decision made by the Supreme Court, which stated that

Capital Punishment was legal under the Eighth Amendment. Though, because of this case, many

states made reforms to their crimes punishable by death.

Reforms continued to follow, one including the official violation of the Eighth

Amendment regarding mental illness and intellectual disability. Many states now require a

psychologist, psychiatrist, or physician to conduct a pre-screening evaluation to determine the

defendants IQ. Reforms revolving around racial discrimination, and juveniles have also been

made. Race issues occured in the famous case Batson v. Kentucky, where a prosecutor striked

people on the jury due to race (Unknown, 2017). In just 2005, the Supreme Court ruled

executions of juveniles as unconstitutional, due to the Roper v. Simmons case.

The United States has shown a decrease in capital punishment executions over the years

(see graph A) which may be due to a resolution that was passed. In April 1999, the United

Nations Human Rights Commission passed the Resolution Supporting Worldwide Moratorium

On Executions. The resolution calls on countries which have not abolished the death penalty to

restrict its use of the death penalty, including not imposing it on juvenile offenders and limiting
the number of offenses for which it can be imposed. Ten countries, including the United States,

China, Pakistan, Rwanda and Sudan voted against the resolution (Unknown, 2017).

Graph A:

(Executions By Year, 2017)

Public opinions have made capital punishment a very controversial topic (see graph B),

containing many highly debated issues such as morality, constitutionality, deterrence, retribution,

irrevocable mistakes, cost of death vs. life in prison, race, closure for victims families, attorney

quality, and physicians and executions (Unknown, 2016).

Graph B:

(Jones, 2013)

 This graph shows the majority of people being in favor of the death penalty.

The morality and constitutionality of the death penalty are two of the more difficult topics

being debated, because each person has different ideals regarding morals, and the constitution

can be interpreted in different ways. While this may be the case with some issues, it is clear to

see why many would want not want to abolish capital murder due to its deterrent effects. Each

execution deters an average of 18 murders, according to a 2003 nationwide study by professors

at Emory University (Tanner, 2007). This statistic includes alarming numbers that are very hard

to ignore.

On the topic of retribution or revenge, many want to see a more measured response. An

eye for an eye is a fair argument for those who do not have to directly deal with capital

punishment, but for families of victims and criminals, in many cases, it only causes more pain.

Mistakes revolving around the death penalty are a very big issue, just as any mistake

when incriminating someone. Between 1973 and 2014, 144 people were exonerated, 1.6 percent

of all death penalty cases. While this seems like a small number, this does not include those who

have been executed, and their cases never looked over again.

One of the most alarming facts about capital punishment are the costs. Keeping someone

on death row costs taxpayers much more than keeping them in prison for life without parole.

Each individual capital punishment cases costs are raised due to the full court process in which

they must go through. Fox News reported that studies have uniformly and conservatively shown

that a death-penalty trial costs $1 million more than one in which prosecutors seek life without

parole (Barnes, 2010)

 Racial prejudice has been an issue for a long time (see graph C), and is still seen today.

Many people are discussing just how apparent it is in the judicial system. While most death row

inmates are white, in comparison to blacks and hispanics, it is more likely that if a black person

kills a white person, they will receive the death penalty, than if a white person killed a black

person, or even if a black person killed a black person.

Graph C:

(Dieter 1998)

One argument that only few can truly relate to, is the closure of victims families

following the execution of the murderer. Many stories state that families have more trouble

letting go, of the horrific tragedies after the execution, than they believe they would if they had

pursued life in prison for the criminal. They mention that they think about it a lot, and also feel

guilt around the topic of the execution. Though, this is not the case for all families. A father of a
daughter who was the victim of a murder says the taxpayers footing the bill for his housing and

meals -- is punishment enough. If the correctional system offered any college courses, the

Garvins (the parents of the victim) would pay part of the cost if Oken (the murderer) wanted to

take them. Dawn Garvin (the daughter who was murdered) never got to finish her education at

Harford Community College Dawn will never be back. I'm not looking for closure. That's a

bad misconception on the part of some people. I want Oken to die for the murder of Dawn,

Patricia Hurt and Lori Ward" (Kane, 2008).

While none of the issues revolving around the death penalty are invalid, referring to the

graph, the public opinions show more in support than not, and in the words of my father, it is

fair to say that while the death penalty may not deter crime, it certainly stops second offenders.
 Works Cited

Barnes, Ed. Just or Not, Cost of Death Penalty Is a Killer for State Budgets. Fox News U.S. ,
Fox News , 27 Mar. 2010,
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-penalty-killer-state-budgets.htmlhttp://www.fo
xnews.com/us/2010/03/27/just-cost-death-penalty-killer-state-budgets.html.

Dieter, Richard C. The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who
Decides. The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides | Death
Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty Information Center, June 1998,
deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides.
Kane, Gregory. To Murder Victims' Families, Executing Killers Is Justice. Baltimoresun.com,
The Baltimore Sun, 15 July 2008,
www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.kane05feb05-column.html.

Executions By Year. Death Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty Information Center, 20
Oct. 2017, deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-year.

Jones, Jefferey M. U.S. Death Penalty Support Lowest in More Than 40 Years. Gallup.com,
Gallup News, 29 Oct. 2013,
news.gallup.com/poll/165626/death-penalty-support-lowest-years.aspx.

McGuigan, Brendan, and Bronwyn Harris. What Is the Death Penalty? WiseGEEK, Conjecture
Corporation, 14 Oct. 2017, www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-death-penalty.htm.

Tanner, Robert. Studies Say Death Penalty Deters Crime. The Washington Post, WP
Company, 11 June 2007,
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061100406.html.

Unknown. Top 10 Pro & Con Arguments - Death Penalty - ProCon.org. Should the Death
Penalty Be Allowed?, ProCon.org, 9 Dec. 2016,
deathpenalty.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002000.

Unknown. Part I: History of the Death Penalty. Part I: History of the Death Penalty | Death
Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty Information Center, 2017,
deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty#intro.
Unknown. Part II: History of the Death Penalty. Part II: History of the Death Penalty | Death
Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty Information Center, 2017,
deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-ii-history-death-penalty.