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HISTORY
The following is a summary of the history of
capital punishment, with an emphasis on developments in the United
States. The sources used in this summary are listed at the end to allow
more in-depth research.
Early Death Penalty Laws
The first established death penalty
laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of
King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25
different crimes. The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth
Century B.C.'s Hittite Code, the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code
of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes, and the
Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences
were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to
death, burning alive, and impalement.
In the Tenth Century A.D., hanging became the usual method of execution in Britain. In the following century, William the Conqueror would not allow persons to be hanged or otherwise executed for any crime, except in times of war. This trend would not last, for in the Sixteenth Century, under the reign of Henry VIII, as many as 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed. Some common methods of execution at that time were boiling, burning at the stake, hanging, beheading, and drawing and quartering. Executions were carried out for such capital offenses as marrying a Jew, not confessing to a crime, and treason.
The number of capital crimes in Britain
continued to rise throughout the next two centuries. By the 1700s, 222
crimes were punishable by death in Britain, including stealing, cutting
down a tree, and robbing a rabbit warren. Because of the severity of
the punishment of death, many juries would not convict defendants if
the offense was not serious. This led to reforms of Britain's death
penalty. From 1823 to 1837, the death penalty was eliminated for over
100 of the 222 crimes punishable by death. (Randa, 1997)
The Death Penalty in America
Britain influenced America's use of the death penalty more than any
other country did. When European settlers came to the new world, they
brought the practice of capital punishment. The first recorded
execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the
Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a
spy for Spain. 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.
Laws regarding the death penalty varied from colony to colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony held its first execution in 1630, even though the Capital Laws of New England did not go into effect until years later. The New York Colony instituted the Duke's Laws of 1665. Under these laws, offenses such as striking one's mother or father, or denying the "true God," were punishable by death. (Randa, 1997)
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