Capital punishment, commonly referred to as the death penalty is a regularly discussed form of punishment in America. It has its roots as far back as the 18 th Century in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon (Bailey, 1997). This code codified the death penalty for an estimated 25 crimes. Capital punishment can also be dated back to the 7 th Century’s Code of Athens, where it was considered the only punishment for any given crime (Bedau & Cassell, 2004).
Life was quite hard for Hebrews in Old Testament era because once they reached the Promised Land, they were forced to fight to preserve. Few alternatives were available for punishing offenders and the overall consequence was either expulsion from the tribe, beating, or death (Bailey, 1997). Notably, the Old Testament law actually prescribed capital punishment for heinous crimes such as murder in Exodus 21: 12-14 KJV; sorcery and witchcraft in Leviticus 20:27; performing one’s duties on a Sabbath in Numbers 15:32 – 36; and homosexuality in Leviticus 20:13 (Bedau & Cassell, 2004).
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There is a great distinction between the Old and New Testament approaches to the death penalty. For instance, the New Testament does not at any given point call for believers to adhere to the Old Testament law. Contrarily, there are those who argue that the New Testament teaches divinely authorized government power to kill a capital offender (John 19:11). This is what is today referred t as retributionism where the punishment fits the crime.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s treatment of juveniles in death penalty cases is similar to that of adults. This is evident in the case of Roper v. Simmons (2005) where prior to the Supreme Court’s decision forbidding death penalty, 19 states implementing the form of punishment did not allow for the execution of juveniles. Interestingly, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned capital punishment for the Roper v. Simmons case, leading to the execution of 22 inmates who committed crimes while under the age of 18 years (Bailey, 1997).
On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court’s treatment of mentally ill in death penalty cases is similar to those of normal individuals. Very few states exempt a mentally ill individual from this particular punishment, for instance Connecticut (Bedau & Cassell, 2004). Death penalty does not provide a reasonable punishment alternative in today’s society. That is perhaps the reason why most states opt not to use it, despite authorizing it.
References
Bailey, V. (1997. “The hanging tree: Execution and the English people, 1770 – 1868.” Albion A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies , 28(2). Pp. 327.
Bedau, H.A., & Cassell, P., eds. (2004). Debating the death penalty: Should America have capital punishment? New York: Oxford University Press.
