The Changing Nature Of The Death Penalty

Death Penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime. In the United States, only eighteen of the 50 states have the death penalty. David Von Drehled from Time Magazine states that since the 1700’s the US has executed 15,760 prisoners(David Von Drehled). According to The Changing Nature of Death Penalty Debates, the public opinion of the death penalty has changed drastically over the years. “Support decreased through the 1950s and until 1966, when only 47% of the American public voiced support(Michael Radelet & Marian Borg, Pg.44). Most people believed that the death penalty was inhumane, so they did not support it. “In 1991, Gallup found that 76% of Americans favored the death penalty; in 1994 support had reached 80%”(Radelet & Marian, Pg. 44). Capital punishment is more humane now than what it used to be, it would deter criminals from committing heinous crimes, and it would give closure to the friends and families of victims.
First, capital punishment used to be much more brutal. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, hanging became popular in Britain in the tenth century. In the sixteenth century about 72,000 people were executed by boiling or decapitation for crimes such as marrying a jewish person, treason, or not telling …show more content…
More people need to understand the pros of having the death penalty and support it so that we can keep our world a safe place for everyone to live in. No one wants to live in fear, that their rapist or family members murderer may get out of prison and their home, may be the first stop. We as people never fully feel safe until the problem is one hundred percent taken care of. Once the criminals are no longer a problem, we can continue to live our happy