"The Death Penalty in 2013." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
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What is the death penalty?
the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime
How many states still legalize the death penalty?Capital punishment is legal in 32 U.S. states. As of January 2014 there were 3,070 inmates in 35 states awaiting execution. Connecticut, Maryland and New Mexico have abolished the death penalty, but it is not retroactive. Prisoners on death row in those states will still be executed.
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How has the death penalty changed within the years?
Capital punishment is the harshest penalty allowed by the Supreme Courts. It dates back centuries but was imported by British settlers to the Americas in the colonial times. It officially began in the early 17th centuries where crimes such as stealing vegetables, trading with Native Americans, or rejecting the idea of one God was considered capital crimes. Hanging, now only legal in the states of Washington and New Hampshire, was the most popular method of execution. However, methods of burning, beating, and breaking on a wheel were occasionally used. In the late 1700s, Europeans philosophers created a trend of successful abolition movements. In 1770s, Thomas Jefferson attempted to amend Virginia's laws regarding capital punishment to make murder and treason capital crimes. His bill, the Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments in Cases Heretofore Capital was however defeated by one vote. Nevertheless, the eighth amendment passed in the 1790s banned all cruel and unusual punishments. The abolition movement broke out in the early 19th century, states began performing execution privately in prisons instead of in public. In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason and other states quickly followed. In 1890, the electric chair was the preferred method over hanging. It was thought to be more humane. The abolition movement wide spread when research suggested that criminals were victims of genetics and were by products of their environments. By 1920s, most states reinstated the death penalty due to World War I and the threat of a socialist revolutions. In 1924, gas chambers became the most popular method of execution and deemed to be most humane. In 1958, reinterpretations of the constitutional suggested that death penalty was unconstitutional. This subject was addressed in the Furman v. Georgia case (1972.) On the June 29 of that year, the Supreme Court ruled that consistency were necessary when applying the death penalty and the existing state law regarding the death penalty was unconstitutional. This ruling put all capital punishment on hold and transferring all inmates on death row to life in prison. To counteract this ruling, states quickly wrote new laws abiding sentences guidance to the judge and jury. The justices believed that the criminal should not be sent to death row immediately but should get different sentencing phases. They also created the practice for automatic appeal for death sentences. In 1976, the Supreme Court decided that the new laws passed by the states were okay and the death penalty resumes. Gary Gilmore became the first to be executed by an Utah firing squad. In 1977, the Supreme court ruled the court case of Roberts v. Louisiana that the death penalty should not be automatically imposed on any crimes. In Coker v. Virginia, the Supreme court implies that only murder should qualify for death sentences. On December 7, 1982 the method of lethal injection was first used and it became the preferred way of carrying out executions of today’s society. In the ruling of Ford v. Wainwright (1986,) the death penalty was banned for the mentally illed. Support for capital punishment peaked at 80% at 1994 and is slowly declining. In recent year, some states have altogether abolish the death penalty however it shall remain as the device of topic.
When is the death penalty appropriate today?
The death penalty is generally used for murder. Although in many states capital punishment could also be used for treason, aggravated kidnapping, rape, drug trafficking, aircraft hijacking, and planting bombs in public transportation stations.
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