Death Penalty

Death Penalty

The Death Penalty is a touchy subject with a lot of people. Some are extremely for it, and others are very much against it. There are those who aren't sure which side they fall in and, of course, there are people who choose a side and know very little about the death penalty. Personally, I can't decide which side I stand on. I believe in the death penalty, and I don't think that it's cruel or unusual in any way. I think that it depends on how secure the system is in knowing that the person is guilty and how sever the crime was.

Although the death penalty isn't considered cruel and unusual, now, due to the eighth amendment, things were much different several years ago. A crime could consist of something as simple as being accused of being a witch, poisoning, treason, perjury, anything. As time went on, crimes became even easier to commit, such as cutting down a tree that was a certain amount of years old. Methods of executions varied and were horribly torturous, such as beheading, crucifixion, beatings, burnings, and thrown to animals. Some people were flogged, or stoned, until they were all cut up, then threw the person in a sac with different vicious animals, sewn up, and thrown into the sea (Lyons 157).

Burning was one of the most common methods of execution. The "criminal" was normally put and burned on a stake. Between the 11th and 18th centuries, at least 200,000 people had died at the stake. Another common methods of execution is the crucifixion of a "criminal". They were nailed to boards in a cross, X, shaped figure. They were then hung up and left to die. In the mean time, people often stoned this person, now a victim. After they died, they would be left up for others to see as an example of what not to do and later buried with the cross. Hanging was pretty popular in the 5th century. A noose was tied around the "criminal's" neck that was wrapped around a Gallows Pole, forced to walk up a ladder and the ladder was then pulled away for them to hang. People later came up with having the "criminal" site on a horse with the noose around their neck and had the horse walk away, leaving them to hang that way.

These days, however, we have much more modern methods such as electrocution lethal injection and in some cases a firing squad. The method of electrocution was "first used in Auburn Prison, New York, August 6, 1890 on William Kemmler who killed his wife" (Lyons 172). The bad thing about the electric chair was that it came with the horrible smell of burning flesh. The chair has changed a bit over the years, and is less gruesome than before. The electric chair is typically made of wood, with straps to hold down the arms, legs, head, and chest. The person is shaved where the electrodes are placed and moistened in the area. First the person is shocked with a 2,000-volt shock, next two smaller shocks and then one last 2,000-volt shock. Normally the person dies immediately, but that's not always the case. Nebraska is the only state that requires the electric chair, and ten other states still use it as they please. The electric chair wasn't used as much when lethal injection was into play. It was first used in 1977 in Oklahoma and in Texas. The fluids that are used, which vary within each of the 37 states that use lethal injection, are normally believed to be painless. If the muscle in injected, however, the process can be very painful, but when done correctly, it paralyzes the muscles and eventually causes heart failure. The one state that still uses the firing squad is Utah, but rarely. In eight different states, the killer can choose the method in which they will die.

Even though the methods have changed and become much more humane, people still disagree with the death penalty. A few issues are the victim's rights, what if they are killing an innocent person, the difference between a crime of passion and a cold-blooded murder. People believe that killing a killer