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How Has The Death Penalty Changed Over Time

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In human history, the first ever laws of the death penalty can date back to 1800 BC in the Code of King Hammurabi. The first recorded death penalty in America was in Jamestown in 1608; before we even were established as the United States. For those who don’t know, the death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, is the punishment of execution for those who committed a capital crime. As mentioned before the death penalty has been around for ages, undergoing many changes throughout the decades. During the early colonial times, the death penalty could have been used for any offense, big or small. One man in 1767 named Cesare Beccaria wrote an essay called On Crimes and Punishment that changed the view of capital punishment for everyone. …show more content…

A study in 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences showed that 4.1% of defendants sentenced to death are innocent. That’s means 1 in 25 people are innocent and are sent to death. The exact number of those wrongfully accused and executed remain unknown but those who were found to be innocent were already executed. Many after being accused of a crime are not given the chance to prove they were innocent, once convicted there is little effort into changing the verdict. After being wrongfully executed, there is no compensation for the victim’s family and they are left to mourn the loss of a loved …show more content…

Instead of being an act of justice, many argue that it instead is a method of revenge for the loss of a loved one. For one to punish someone who committed a crime against another individual is just and understandable but to kill someone for killing another person is also unconstitutional. Murder is deemed a crime and in this case, masked by the name capital punishment and acceptable by society. Not only is it an act of revenge but also adds on to the violence. News of executions tend to reach the media at some point in time. Already adding to the violence of everyday murders, and sometimes giving some a reason to be a part of those statistics. One prime example is Bud Welch’s daughter, Julie, who was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. His initial reaction was for those who had part in the bombing be killed, but realizing soon after that his wish was “simply vengeance; and it was vengeance that killed Julie.... Vengeance is a strong and natural emotion. But it has no place in our justice system." (B. Welch, personal communication, May 16,

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