The History of Capital Punishment Essay -- History Crime Punishing ess

The History of Capital PunishmentCrime has been a plague on edict from old-fashioned times to present. In response tothis plague, society has formed structured rules to deal with the perpetrators of crime. Acrime can be defined as act that societys government deems as illegal. Different societies have formed various methods and standards for evaluating crime and assigningcorresponding punishment. What constitutes a crime has changed throughout the courseof history. In quaint times, such extreme actions as the deliberate kill of anotherhuman being for the sake of family honor or religious rite was considered sociallyacceptable and therefore not legally wrong. Now, the majority of the modern world (withperhaps the exclusion of some Middle Eastern sects) view the deliberate killing of anotherhuman being as non-socially acceptable, and therefore legally wrong. The overallexceptions to this rule are the taking of human life in the act of fight and in punishment for extreme crime(s) against humanity. Punishment for crime has ranged from mild, in the form of fines, or incarceration,to severe, in the form of physical torture or wipeout. In ancient times, punishment forserious crimes such as treason, theft, or murder was frequently severe and inhumane. Offenders were often tortured for hours to be either left to die a slow and painful death or be executed publicly. The use of the death penality has declined throught out theindustrial Western world since the 19th century.The concept of restriction for punishment dates back to ancient times. Imprisonment is generally a milder form of punishment which removes an individual fromsociety and confines him/her in an institution with other offenders. Examples of historical places of confinement are Londons Tower and Pariss Bastille. The Tower and Bastille were used to confine political prisoners, not criminals in the ordinary sense. The park jail has existed since approximately 1166, when King Henry II of England order ed places of confinement for criminals built. Jails mainly served the purpose for prisoners awaiting trial, while also holding unfortunate petty offenders such as beggars, vagrants, and debtors. The purpose for places of confinement remained the same until the development of the American prison system. The purpose of the American prison system posed a t... ... person recieving punishment, and (4) the death penalty lowers the goverment to the same level as the criminal. All prudent hoi polloi have concern for the sanctity of human life. No one enjoyshaving to be trusty for sentencing a person to death no matter what crime they havecommitted. However, as President George W. Bush recently said, There are evil peoplein the world and we must respond appropriately. Basically, what he is means is that theremust be just and direct punishment for evil and heinous crimes. Therefore, detonating devicepunishment is and can be a deterrent for crimes of serious nature against individuals ands ociety. This is an attempt to punish some and deter others. For certain, those sentencedto death will no daylong be a threat to society.Works CitedMcCuen, Gary E. Reviving the Death Penalty Copyright 1985 Gary E. McCuenPublications Wekesser,Carrol - editor The Death Penalty Copyright 1991 Greenhaven Press, Inc.Abelson & Friquegnon - editor Ethics for innovational Life Copyright 1995 St. MartinsPress, IncZimring, Franklin E. - The World Book Encyclopedia - Capital Punishment p. 193Copyright 1993 World Book, Inc