Preview

Capital Punishment and Tradition Form

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
885 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Capital Punishment and Tradition Form
National 5 Writing Folio
Discursive essay
Should the death penalty be brought back in the United Kingdom?

The topic I have chosen to argue about is whether the death penalty id a good thing or bad thing to bring back to Britain, Throughout the Assessment I will be mostly focusing on the question on whether the death penalty should be brought back. To start off the essay will on the history of Capital Punishment and why the death penalty was stopped in the first place, after it will show the wrongly convicted people of having the death penalty punishment and how it can effect on society. After that I will be describing the advantages and disadvantages of having the death penalty back and to conclude I will give you my opinion on my views of the death penalty.
Hanging was a tradition form of Capital Punishment in Britain but others like be-heading was a favored in the seventeenth century but stopped be-heading in 1747 after a Scot called Simon Frazer was be-headed for war crimes against Prince Charles. Capital Punishment has advanced through the years with technology and many laws have been made to soften it so less crimes which fell in to the death penalty trial such as; Hanging for forgery was abolished in 1836, no-one under the age of sixteen was put to trial or death after 1908, hanging was stopped in 1868 and the USA used the electric chair which was nether used in Britain.
The last woman to be executed was Ruth Ellis for murdering her husband David but after the when she was put to death there was a lot of controversy, People believe that Ruth shot him because of the abuse he gave her and David made her have a miscarriage. This caused people to start to shout out about the ban of the death penalty. Movies were made to show how horrible the death penalty was one was called “Yield to the night” and a really wealthy woman named Violet Van Der Elsi wrote a book of anti-death penalty called “On the Gallows”. After tones of protests and out cries, the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The death penalty, or capital punishment, may be prescribed by Congress or any state legislature for murder and other capital crimes.” (Death Penalty Law Law & Legal Definition.) “The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain” (DPIC, 1). Capital Punishment existed in the colonies since the founding of Jamestown. It has been part of our society since it was founded. The death penalty goes back to the 18th century B.C. Britain established the first death penalty laws. People would receive capital punishment for simple things like cutting down trees, stealing grapes and killing chickens. Warren McCleskey was tried and convicted for murder in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, on October 12, 1978 and received the death penalty for his…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capital Punishment is regarded as one of the United States' hottest topics. Those for and against it constantly debate over the various issues that capital punishment brings forth. This essay explains just a few of these topics and my view on the death penalty.…

    • 1062 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    CMRJ499 Final Paper

    • 4498 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The death penalty came into America through the influence of Britain. Captain George Kendall, a native to Jamestown, Virginia was the first person in the United States to be executed. Kendal was charged and convicted of being a spy and paid the ultimate price in the year 1608. During this time period crimes began to increase and taken more seriously from our Judicial system. Capital punishment was a…

    • 4498 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death penalty is a major topic for debate Shannon Rafferty defends in her portfolio published by Penn State entitled “Death Penalty Persuasive Essay.” She believes the penalty should be allowed because it functions as a deterrent, it provides society retribution and it is morally just. Olivia H. disagrees with use of the death penalty in her essay “Capital Punishment Is Dead wrong.” She tells about the risk of punishing the innocent, and how the states are doing irreversible acts of crime. As the authors disagree about whether the death penalty should be allowed, they have some common ground when it comes to admitting the potential for human error and in both disagreeing to the use of barbaric punishments by the government.…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1-6). Public hangings are a form of punishment that became the most frequent form of capital punishment by the 10th century (Reggio, n.d., para. 4). The same way the Puritan…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    During the historical era in the state of Texas, the use of the death penalty was common and frequent; before 1923 districts carried out executions themselves, in the form of hanging. However in 1923 the state of Texas prepared every execution to be carried out by the state in Huntsville using the electric chair as the method of execution. The state of Texas put to death their first prisoner by electrocution on February 8, 1924 and there were four more executions following the very first one on that date. The inmates that were sentenced to death and the areas that the executions were taken place were located in the Huntsville division from 1928 to 1965, and the last electrocution was carried out on July 30, 1964. This state electrocuted a sum of 361 inmates from 1924 to 1964. During the changes and views on capital punishment in the year of 1964, there were legal disputes regarding the death penalty that resulted in the de facto moratorium on executions in the United States. During these challenging times on June 29, 1972 in the case of Furman v. Georgia the United States Supreme Court ruled that each states capital punishment law in the U.S. was illicit since the death penalty was unjustly used and arbitrarily assigned. During that time there were 52 men in Texas awaiting execution, however the governor overturned all their sentences to life in prison and there wasn’t anyone left on death row by March of 1973. Even though death row was cleared and the inmates received life sentences, the state of Texas approved a new statue in1973 to regulate how capital punishment was assessed. In 1974 with the new statue, jurors began enforcing death sentences and the number of death row inmates began to increase once again. In 1977 Texas implemented lethal injection as a form of execution and the first lethal injection was administered on December 7, 1982.…

    • 2408 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cost of the Death Penalty

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty, written by Mark Costanzo, neatly lists reasons for opposition, and abolishment of, the death penalty. Costanzo provides a review of the history of the death penalty, a review of how the death penalty process is working today, questions on whether or not if the death penalty is inhumane and cheaper than life imprisonment. He also questions if the death penalty is fairly applied and the impact, if any, that it has on deterrence. He closely examines the public's support of the death penalty and questions the morality of the death penalty. Finally, Costanzo provides his own resolution and alternative to the death penalty. Each of these items allows the reader an easy, and once again, neat view of how the death penalty can work against out society rather than for it.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capital punishment is the Permissible authorisation of executing someone who has committed an atrocious, unforgiveable and inhumane crime. The death penalty was removed from Great Britain in 1964-1965, however some countries, for example; China, Iran, North Korea and some states in the USA, still practice the use of the death penalty. Acts such as; genocide and general murders commonly result in the criminal offender being placed on death row. Some legal execution methods would be: Lethal injection or electric chair. In my opinion I believe the death penalty is an illogical, unreasonable and an absurd punishing system, and shouldn’t be re introduced into the UK. I am going to explain why below.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. King Hammurabi of Babylon codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. Many deaths were executed by crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement (DPIC 1). Many years later, in the tenth century A.D., Britain started using hanging…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death penalty dates as far back to the eighteenth century B.C. during the code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon. During the fifth century B.C., The punishment for all crimes was death. Executioners executed offenders creatively, including crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. In the tenth century A.D., hanging was the preferred method of execution in Britain. By the sixteenth century, the British Government executed people who married Jews, who failed to confess to crimes, and who committed treason. By the 1700s, over 200 crimes were punishable by death in Britain, such as stealing, cutting down a tree, and robbing a rabbit warren (The Death Penalty, 2012). However, many juries at that time felt as though crimes like these were not serious enough to warrant the death penalty, leading Britain Government to eliminate the death penalty from over 100 crimes in the early and mid 1800s. Britain influenced America’s use of the death penalty. The first recorded execution was in the colony of Jamestown, Virginia, where Captain George Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. The death penalty evolved differently in each colony. In the New York Colony, for example, judges followed Duke's Laws of 1665 (The Death Penalty, 2012). Under this law, offenses like hitting someone’s mother or father, or denying the “true…

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Capital punishment has been a topic that has been talked about for ages. It has been an issue in the adjudication process since the first execution took place in the United States of America in 1608 (Schneider & Smykia, 1991). Today, cases are being brought before the courts constantly, and they are forced to decide what exactly is “cruel and unusual punishment” in accordance with the eighth amendment. This paper will be looking at how the death penalty has evolved and developed in the United States. It will also be evaluating the effects of the death penalty and looking at the issues that are being faced today in regards to capital punishment. Also, does the death penalty have a place in the future for America?…

    • 1629 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Furman v. Georgia decision of the Supreme Court was the first time in history where a higher court had ruled against capital punishment. However, the Supreme Court later suggested new legislation that overturned the ruling that capital punishment was cruel and unusual (Bohm, 1997). Opponents for the death penalty were elated. Executions such as drownings, crucifixions and burning at the stake were carried out for things…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1969 and was later followed by the Northern /Ireland on the 25th of July 19973 , it was abolished due to the Britain signing the 13th Protocol which didn’t allow the death penalty under any circumstances, The last death penalty was given to Peter Antony on the 13th of August in 1964 . One of the other reasons was due to Timothy Evans who was a young man who was hanged on the 9th of March 1950.He was charged of the murder of his wife and baby daughter which was uncalled for because sixteen years later he was found out to be innocent ,But it was already too late as he had already been erroneously hanged .It was found out that his co-tenant John Reginald Christie…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The debate for restoration of the death penalty in Australia has been ongoing since the 1985 abolishment of capital punishment in Australia. Following the abolishment of capital punishment, Australia has not seen any rise in the number of homicides and murders, suggesting that execution does not deter criminals. Each time another heinous crime is committed, public outcry reignites the debate on the reintroduction of the death penalty. In Australia today many obstacles are preventing the restoration of the death penalty including the high cost of capital punishment and the history of innocent people being executed however recent political leaders have mentioned that the return of the death penalty could be appropriate. The death penalty was abolished in Australia decades ago but the battle against capital punishment was left incomplete.…

    • 1860 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Capital punishment, known as the death penalty is punishment by death and is reserved for the most heinous of crimes. The first known death penalty execution in what would later become the United States, was in 1608, when Captain George Kendell was executed by firing squad for being a spy for Spain (Waksman, 2012).…

    • 2185 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays