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Death Penalty in the American History

In American History, death penalty is known in the last 250 years of its capital

punishment. In his monograph “The death penalty: An American history,” Banner discusses

death penalty as a way of regulating evil and social conduct. A detailed description of how the

death penalty is executed in Massachusetts when a boy aged sixteen years old committed arson.

Many people did not like it, more so the slaves, and therefore they started to resist the death

penalty. Banner further gives a debate between the supporters and opponents of the death

penalty. There are three phases through which the death penalty in America falls. The founding

phase is the first period which started from the 17th century to the starting of 19th centuries. In

this phase, the death penalty was mostly regarded to punish the defendant and solely preferred as

a means of sentence for the unforgivable crime. The second phase was called penalogical era

from the 19th century to the end of 20th centuries. In this phase, the death penalty was not often

used as compared to the first phase until it disappeared in the 1960s. The last phase is the

politicization of the death penalty which happened in a contradicting manner where the U.S

Supreme Court disapproved all the death penalties in 1972 in Furman v. Georgia. The

disapproval based on the need to set policies that will guide the execution of death penalties as a

means of capital punishment so that it cannot be rampant. That is where the idea of the current

death penalty emerged and moved reaction to Furman and modification of crime. The reason

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why the death penalty was preferred in American colonies is that few jails were available and a

large distance between them, minimal law implementation, and the perceived need to create an

impression of Powerful leadership. The sense for the death penalty was to send a general

warning to the public about their misconduct.

During the colonial and prior American History, the death penalty was mandatory and

vastly executed for many wrongdoings of the defendants. Once decided, there was no revisiting

on the judgment imposed to the defendants. The merciful governors through their traditions and

norms could reorder the judgment of the case where the defendants are required to regret about

their acts. The rampant use of kindness during the colonial period contrasts its application today

in America since political opinions, and the chronological process is controlling the whole

process. Currently, in America, Clemency is used as the last option by the courts wherein real

action; it is not practiced at all. During the death penalty, the “hanging day” in the American

colonies, the witnesses were paid where religion was paramount Banner. The termination of the

wrongdoing is stressed as the process is executed to give the reason as to why the defendant got

into fate. The action meant to send a warning to other people who are in the process of

committing the same crime. Ministers preached about sins to the crowd of people giving reasons

why various people in society were hanged.

At the end of the 18th century, there was a paradigm shift from executing the death

penalty to recognizing human rights. The recognition of the need to address human rights was in

line with people aware of their rights where it led to the formation of penalties options like

serving prison terms in jail to where the defendants are rehabilitated. The process made it

necessary to eradicate with the death penalty or do severe amendments for it. The death penalty

to the 16-year-old boy who committed arsonist raised the alarm where anti-death movement was

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formed to counter the act. The anti-slavery groups further supported them. Massachusetts is

among the states which eradicated death penalty to date. The act of the seizing capitalistic

punishment in all the United States more so Massachusetts is one of the strengths as depicted in

the article. It is an indication that in the colonial period, some few individuals saw the

importance to consider humanity in the brutal punishment of imparting the death penalty to

them. The act of formulation to rehabilitate the defendants in the unique places is also a strength

depicted in the article.

The weakness depicted is in the article is the use of the death penalty to defendants

irrespective of the crime committed. For instance, hanging a 16-year-old boy for committing

arson was an inhuman act. Also, the priests acted hypocritically, pretending to preach to people

about changing, yet they knew people were mistreated. Also, the perception of the colonial

governments to exercise the death penalty to frighten the public was a desperate weakness. I will

recommend the article as a basis to show how the sense for humanity emerged in the U.S and the

need to embarrass them in the courts.

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Work cited

Banner, Stuart, and Stuart Banner. The death penalty: An American history. Harvard University

Press, 2009.

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