Unfortunately, we live in a time of blame and punishment. While the spotlight is usually shining on the United States with the multitude accounts of police brutality plastered in the news with society demanding a call to action. What is just as important to discuss when calling for reform in our police systems is what happens while criminals are behind bars. America is not the sole provider on an inadequate prison system. Around the world, rehabilitation of prisoners and the use of the death penalty are highly debated social issues. Timberlake Wertenbaker’s brilliant and thought provoking play Our Country’s Good explores the complicated issue of capital punishment and the injustice of people who have been believed to have been brought to justice.
…show more content…
These executions were opened for the public, but it became something of a spectacle for society to come and see. (Bedau 5) It took years and time for the degrees of the crimes to be separated and for the punishment of these crimes to be handed it out fairly. According to American law, criminal homicide happens to be the only crime explicitly punishable by death nowadays. (Bedau 6) Finally, the decision of capital punishment because a state-by-state decision basis. According to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, as of July 1015, there are currently 31 states that allow the death penalty. It is the development of the method of execution that raises ethical or moral questions. By 1994, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Washington still allowed hanging as a form of lawful execution. (Bedau 12) In Our Country’s Good, hanging is the sole and primary method of execution in the colony. The historically accurate time period of this was 1788. Drawing from how characters describe death by hanging in the script, obviously it wasn’t an ideal way to die. When Ketch visits Liz to measure her neck for the hanging, he explains how hangings can go extremely wrong, lamenting, “It took twenty minutes and even then he wasn’t dead. Remember how he dances and everyone laughed. I don’t want to repeat something like that Mr Brewer, not now. Someone had to get hold of his legs to weigh him down and then…” (Wertenbaker …show more content…
The use of the death penalty was extremely popular during the 1800’s. There were over 223 offences that were punishable by death in 1810. However, it turned out that many of the infractions were not sentenced with death. (Hood 51) This is interesting because it juxtaposes the attitude of the British colony in Our Country’s Good. Even the most minimal offenses such as, “Dorothy Handland, eighty –two, who stole a biscuit from Robert Sideway.” (Wertenbaker 7) It wasn’t until the 1920’s where strides in the abolition started taking place. It turned into a tug of war between the labour and conservative parties of government. When the year 1998 rolled around, the United Kingdom officially became a death penalty free nation. (Hood 65) Australia and New Zealand followed in the same pathway as the United Kingdom, which is not surprising considering for a long time England had a fair amount of control. It was the late 1900’s when individual states within Australia banned the death penalty but it wasn’t until 2010 when it became a national piece of legislation, officially banning capital punishment in all Australian states. (Hood
These executions were opened for the public, but it became something of a spectacle for society to come and see. (Bedau 5) It took years and time for the degrees of the crimes to be separated and for the punishment of these crimes to be handed it out fairly. According to American law, criminal homicide happens to be the only crime explicitly punishable by death nowadays. (Bedau 6) Finally, the decision of capital punishment because a state-by-state decision basis. According to DeathPenaltyInfo.org, as of July 1015, there are currently 31 states that allow the death penalty. It is the development of the method of execution that raises ethical or moral questions. By 1994, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Washington still allowed hanging as a form of lawful execution. (Bedau 12) In Our Country’s Good, hanging is the sole and primary method of execution in the colony. The historically accurate time period of this was 1788. Drawing from how characters describe death by hanging in the script, obviously it wasn’t an ideal way to die. When Ketch visits Liz to measure her neck for the hanging, he explains how hangings can go extremely wrong, lamenting, “It took twenty minutes and even then he wasn’t dead. Remember how he dances and everyone laughed. I don’t want to repeat something like that Mr Brewer, not now. Someone had to get hold of his legs to weigh him down and then…” (Wertenbaker …show more content…
The use of the death penalty was extremely popular during the 1800’s. There were over 223 offences that were punishable by death in 1810. However, it turned out that many of the infractions were not sentenced with death. (Hood 51) This is interesting because it juxtaposes the attitude of the British colony in Our Country’s Good. Even the most minimal offenses such as, “Dorothy Handland, eighty –two, who stole a biscuit from Robert Sideway.” (Wertenbaker 7) It wasn’t until the 1920’s where strides in the abolition started taking place. It turned into a tug of war between the labour and conservative parties of government. When the year 1998 rolled around, the United Kingdom officially became a death penalty free nation. (Hood 65) Australia and New Zealand followed in the same pathway as the United Kingdom, which is not surprising considering for a long time England had a fair amount of control. It was the late 1900’s when individual states within Australia banned the death penalty but it wasn’t until 2010 when it became a national piece of legislation, officially banning capital punishment in all Australian states. (Hood