The death penalty is a global punishment for a number of crimes in the world that has a rich history and future. In the world, there are 195 countries-if you choose not to count Taiwan. 60% of these countries allow the death penalty, otherwise known as Capital Punishment. That means 140 countries have abolished it.
The death penalty has been around for quite some time, being traced all the way back to 18th Century B.C. in the Babylonian era. This presents the idea that punishment that was meant to end life was a common one back then. As time progresses, this punishment makes its notorious rounds throughout history before making it big in Britain. In Britain, this punishment was rather common and constituted for nearly 220 sentences. However …show more content…
The abolition movement was founded by European theorists Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Bentham as well as English Quakers John Bellers and John Howard. However, Cesare Beccaria’s 1767 essay “On Crimes and Punishment” was what had a rather strong impact on society. This very essay was what motivated abolitionists to use their voice and energy to fight it. Colonial Americans were very much inspired by Beccaria and first attempted to defy/reform the penalty when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill meant to revise Virginia’s death penalty laws. This bill had proposed that capital punishment must be used only when the crimes of murder and treason were committed. However, this bill was rejected by 1 …show more content…
Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, was also influenced to fight the death penalty. He had challenged the belief that the death penalty was discouraging for those who were committing crimes. Rush was actually a believer in the “brutalization effect”- which can be defined as the possibility of executions causing the homicide rate to increase. Rush had actually gained the support of Benjamin Franklin and General William Bradford-Philadelphia Attorney General and later the U.S. Attorney General. Bradford had lead Pennsylvania into becoming the first state to consider the degrees of murder based on the culpability. In 1794, Pennsylvania had decided to repeal the death penalty for all offenses except first degree
The death penalty has been around for quite some time, being traced all the way back to 18th Century B.C. in the Babylonian era. This presents the idea that punishment that was meant to end life was a common one back then. As time progresses, this punishment makes its notorious rounds throughout history before making it big in Britain. In Britain, this punishment was rather common and constituted for nearly 220 sentences. However …show more content…
The abolition movement was founded by European theorists Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Bentham as well as English Quakers John Bellers and John Howard. However, Cesare Beccaria’s 1767 essay “On Crimes and Punishment” was what had a rather strong impact on society. This very essay was what motivated abolitionists to use their voice and energy to fight it. Colonial Americans were very much inspired by Beccaria and first attempted to defy/reform the penalty when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill meant to revise Virginia’s death penalty laws. This bill had proposed that capital punishment must be used only when the crimes of murder and treason were committed. However, this bill was rejected by 1 …show more content…
Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, was also influenced to fight the death penalty. He had challenged the belief that the death penalty was discouraging for those who were committing crimes. Rush was actually a believer in the “brutalization effect”- which can be defined as the possibility of executions causing the homicide rate to increase. Rush had actually gained the support of Benjamin Franklin and General William Bradford-Philadelphia Attorney General and later the U.S. Attorney General. Bradford had lead Pennsylvania into becoming the first state to consider the degrees of murder based on the culpability. In 1794, Pennsylvania had decided to repeal the death penalty for all offenses except first degree