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500
First form of Capital Punishment
The first establishment of the death penalty dates back to as early as the 18th century B.C. in the code of King Hammaurabi, which stated death penalties for 25 different crimes. Other early Codes were the Hittite, Draconian, and Roman Law which had penalties including crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement. This spanned from 1800 B.C. to 500 B.C. -
Jan 1, 1000
Tenth Century Punishment
Tenth century forms of punishment were various ways of hanging, up until the year 1100 did William the Conqueror only hang for murder and during times of war. This trend did not last and led to the reign of Brittain's punishments. -
16th Century British Punishment
Henry the VIII (8th) had executed over 72,000 people by methods including boiling, and burning at the stake. These executions were given for those who married a Jew, did not confess to a crime, and treason. -
First American Execution
George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia was executed for being a spy for Spain. -
American Death Penalty
Britain influenced America's use of the death penalty more than any other country, Governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral, and Martial Laws which provided the death penalty for minor offenses such as stealing grapes, chickens or trading with Indians. -
1700's Punishment
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Abolitionist Movement
Cesare Beccaria declared in his essay "On Crime and Punishment" that there was no justification for the state's taking a life. -
Reform in America
Dr. Benjamin Rush challenged the belief saying the death penalty serves as a deterrent. William Bradford the U.S. Attorney General led PA in becoming the first state to repeal the death penalty for all offenses except first degree murder. -
Nineteenth Century
The northeast was affected by the movement and many states reduced capital crime and built state penitentiaries. 1834 denotes PA as being the first state to remove executions from public eye. Executions were based by state and they punished slaves heavily. -
Early and Mid-Twentieth Century
1907-1917 six states outlawed the penalty but then it was reinstated by 1920 due to WWI. Up to the 40's there was a resurgence in the use due to writings from criminologists.
THere were more executions in the 1930's than any other decade, 167 per year. -
1950's - 1976
Executions slowly railed short decreasing exponentially for decades due to changes in laws. -
Reasoning
I chose to do a Timeline of the Death penalty because its a tough subject to encounter. Realizing how fortunate we are in today's age versus living in the 1600's is drastic yet puzzling.
