Death Penalty: History Of Crimes Punishable And The Sentence
Deanna Young
Informer: Death Penalty
December 4, 2017
History of Crimes Punishable and the Sentences
The death penalty dates back to the 18th Century BC when the Code of Hammurabi was written, which contained the first known death penalty laws. (Historical Timeline, 2013). Under these laws, there were 25 crimes punishable by law, murder was not included in this list (Reggio, 2014). The first recorded execution occurred in 16th century BC in Egypt when a man was accused of using magic and ordered to kill himself (Reggio, 2014). The Hittite Code, Roman Law of the Twelve Tablets, and BC Draconian Code of Athens all coded the death penalty by 5th century BC (Reggio, 2014). During these times, the death sentences were usually cruel, including
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The Death Penalty Information Center states, “under the reign of Henry VII, as many as 72,000 people are estimated to have been executed” (Death Penalty Information Center, 2017). Britain carried out executions for marrying Jews, not confessing to a crime, and treason (Introduction to the Death Penalty, 2017). 222 crimes were punishable by death in Britain by the 1700’s. (Introduction to the Death Penalty, 2017). The crimes could include stealing from a house, stealing from a shop, cutting down a tree, and using counterfeit tax forms (Reggio, …show more content…
As stated in History of the Death Penalty by Reggio, "Britain influenced the colonies more than any other country and has a long history of punishment by death" (Reggio, 2014). When the British came over to America, they brought along capital punishment with them. The first recorded execution took place in the Virginia colony in 1608. George Kendall was executed for allegedly being a Spanish spy (Introduction to the Death Penalty, 2017). Sir Thomas Dale implemented the Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws in 1612, which made death the penalty legal for minor offenses such as “stealing grapes, killing chickens, killing dogs or horses without permission, or trading with Indians” (Reggio, 2014). These were the first death penalty laws in the American colonies. The first legal execution under these laws occurred in 1622 when Daniel Frank was executed for theft (Reggio, 2014). The death penalty was used in all 13 colonies by the start of the American Revolution, with all but one having at least 10 crimes punishable by death (Historical Timeline: History of the Death Penalty,
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