In the play, the accused is about to get the death penalty. To learn more about the history of this type of punishment, please do the following:
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The Death Penalty - A matter of life and death
Capital Punishment in America
“Capital punishment” is another expression for the “death penalty,” the legal execution of a criminal. The word capital comes from the Latin word for head. In the American colonies, legal executions took place as early as 1630. As in England, the death penalty was imposed for many crimes, even minor ones such as picking pockets or stealing a loaf of bread.
Thousands of people sometimes attended public hangings. Gradually, however, England and America reduced the number of capital offenses, until the main focus was on first-degree murder — murders showing deliberation, willfulness, and premeditation. They also moved executions within the walls of prisons to prevent the spectacle of public executions.
The movement against the death penalty became stronger after World War II, especially in Europe, where many people were tired of all the killing during the war. One by one, all the Western European countries and Canada eliminated capital punishment, leaving the United States as the last Western democracy that still executed criminals.
In the 1950s and 1960s, there were public protests against capital punishment, and the number of executions in America slowly decreased. In 1967, there were only two executions, and the following year marked the start of an unofficial pause on executions. States waited to see how the Supreme Court would rule on the constitutionality of capital punishment. No executions occurred in the United States from 1968 to 1976.
Between 1972 and 1976, 35 states created new capital punishment laws to try to meet the Supreme Court’s suggestions. These new laws were used in Georgia, Texas, and Florida, and it was clearly defined which capital crimes could be punished by death.
Executions resumed in 1977, although many states still awaited a ruling on one more major issue: whether the death penalty was being applied fairly. A study, conducted by University of Iowa Professor David Baldus, showed that black individuals who killed white individuals were sentenced to death seven times more often than white individuals who killed black individuals. Black individuals were sentenced to death more than four times as often as white individuals.
In recent years, about 50 prisoners have been executed each year. More than 3,000 inmates are on death row in prisons across America. Much of this backlog is due to appeals. It takes an average of 14 years from a death sentence to execution.
Discuss:
Why do you think people in Western democratic countries are opposed to capital punishment (the death penalty)?
Why do you think some people are in favor of capital punishment?
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