Capital punishment is defined by the Bureau of Justice Statistics as the process of “sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious (capital crimes) and carrying out that sentence.” Some of these capital crimes may include: murder, treason, and terrorism. Capital Punishment had first been seen in United States around 1608, after Captain George Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. A law against such heinous crimes came into effect when Virginia Governor, Thomas Dale, enacted the Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws. These laws defined capital crimes and the punishment associated with those crimes. However, in this time, execution was performed through pressing, burning on a stake, bludgeoning, and other various methods now seen as inhumane. By 1794, Pennsylvania had abolished the death penalty for all crimes excluding first degree murder. In the late 19th century capital punishment was carried out through death by electric chair and by the early 20th century cyanide gas became
…show more content…
She has most recently stated that she believes appropriate circumstances would be acts of terrorism such as 9/11 and for the Oklahoma City Bombing that took place in 1995. She believes that capital punishment should not be handled on a state level and rather in the federal system. Clinton’s position on capital punishment is the best of both worlds because she disagrees on a state level, yet agrees on a federal level, thus appealing to both arguments when convenient. Bernie Sanders strictly believes government should have no part in the death penalty and should be entirely replaced by life imprisonment. Sanders was the first candidate to announce an opposition stance on capital punishment since 1988. His belief is to end the rates of violence and through the death penalty we are only adding more violence. Sanders view is representative of the majority democratic party at 60% being
She has most recently stated that she believes appropriate circumstances would be acts of terrorism such as 9/11 and for the Oklahoma City Bombing that took place in 1995. She believes that capital punishment should not be handled on a state level and rather in the federal system. Clinton’s position on capital punishment is the best of both worlds because she disagrees on a state level, yet agrees on a federal level, thus appealing to both arguments when convenient. Bernie Sanders strictly believes government should have no part in the death penalty and should be entirely replaced by life imprisonment. Sanders was the first candidate to announce an opposition stance on capital punishment since 1988. His belief is to end the rates of violence and through the death penalty we are only adding more violence. Sanders view is representative of the majority democratic party at 60% being