Capital Punishment - the Legal Sentencing of Death

Capital punishment is the legal sentencing of death as a punishment for what is considered a "capital

crime". Capital crimes range from the obvious crime of murder to rape and other crimes that are deteremined worthy of the ultimate punishment by a judge and jury. Legal authorities have been engaging in this act for hundreds of years. Although the current methods of execution are much more humane than preivous years, the dipute between the whether or not capital punishment is moral or immoral has been in existence for almost as long as the practice itself.

Captial punishment is one of the most controversial elements of the United States judicial system. Although it had in existence for hundreds of years, in the last few decades, its morality has been repeatedly questions and put on trial. Society had decided that it isn't just to allow the legal officials to play God, to decide who lives and who dies. One would think that because there are so many that are so adamantly opposed to the practice of capital punishment, this procedure would have been revoked and deemed out dated and obsolete years ago, but the fact is while there are quite a few that are against the detah penalty, just as many are very much for it.

Capital punshiment was first established as a away of dealing with criminals, the crimes worthy of that punihsment included everything from petty theft to murder. As times changed, the crimes deemed "capital

" also changed. During the Salem Witch Trials, the mere act of being accused or even suspected of witchcraft resulted in that individual being sentenced to the death penalty.

During the early years of capital punishment, authorities cared very little about appearing humane. Methods of this punishment included "breaking by wheel", a process in which the prisoner is strapped to a wheel surrounded by wooden blocks that shatter every joint in a person's body. This device was designed so that no fatal blows were given, the individual being person will be forced to feel every single ounce of pain. Hanging was once thought as the ideal way to exterminate prisoners. Although the procedure was fairly simple, the person being hung would be strangled, eventually lose consciousness and gradually die; the neck will break and their bodies would go into shock which was quickly followed by paralysis and then death.

During those times, the punishment didn't stop once the prisoner was dead. There were many forms of punishment in which prisoners were denied a proper burial and there bodies were hung on display for months or years, depending on the crime committed. This was popular during the Romanian times and the slave trade.

The majority of the original methods used to go about executing prisoners have now become obsolete. The practice of capital punishment has come a long way since the early days, however those that are against the death penalty are not satisfied. The practice of methods such as the "breaking by wheel" are no longer in affect and prisoners that are accused of a crime are now granted the right to prove themselves not gulty in a court of law. Prionsers that are placed on Death Row are given a twelve month waiting period that allows them to have the finally year to be able to prove themselves not guilty, if indeed they are.

In any legal matter, there are always those pro and anti the issue. Regarding capital punishment, there are those individuals that feel that this is a necessary penalty that come to those criminals that committ heinous crimes and there are those who believe that this punishment is inhumane and cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed.

The arguments for capital punishment falls under many categories; retributive or untilitarian. The retributive appoarch suggest that criminals must be punished accordingly to the extent of their crimes; the punishment should match the crime. The utilitarian believes that although crimes are to be punished, death is taking it too far.

A prime example of these categories is the John Lock's famous defense of capital punishment. Locke argued that once a person committed a crime, his rights should be revoked. Once a crime is committed and the rights are surrendered, the punishment needs to protect our society. He uses the retributive approach to state that all criminals must not go unpunished and all crimes deserve a penalty, and the utilitarian approach to state that the happiness of society as a whole is important and that the punishment of crimes should serve as a discourgement of committing them again. Locke felt that society may punish the criminal in any way deemed necessary by society; taking away of rights and even the right to live.

The analogy "capital

punishment is to the political body just as self-defense is to the individual" creates another defense for capital punishment. Self-defense is granted to an individual that is protecting themselves from harm, even if it results in death. Capital punishment is viewed as society's protection from "capital

"