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PART 1. Capital punishment is the severest form of legal punishment today. In this paper, I intend to state the history of the problem, the two sides of the issue, state possible solutions, and evaluate those solutions. There are many methods of execution. Procedures authorized in the United States now are electrocution, the gas chamber, lethal injection, and the firing squad, which is used only in Utah. The main options for capital punishment, though, are lethal injection and lethal gas (Snell, 1998). Examples of the death penalty forbidden by law are crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, being torn into bits and pieces, stoning, and drowning. Hanging, the firing squad, beheading, and stoning are options used in some countries but are outlawed in the United States. Most of the countries applying these methods are followers of the traditional practices of Islam. Even the Bible prescribed death as a penalty for more than 30 crimes. By the end of the 15th century, treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape and arson were all grounds for capital punishment. By 1800, over 200 more crimes were acknowledged, increasing the amount of death penalty cases each year to more than 1000. Interest in abolishing the death penalty didn’t become a concern until the end of the 18th century. The Quakers led a reform in England and America. Several States abolished capital punishment entirely including Michigan in 1847. Countries such as Venezuela and Portugal abolished capital punishment in the late 1800’s. There are many statististics involved with the arguement of capital punishment. This year alone, there has been 567 criminals executed and the total amount of criminals remaining on death row is 2,448 (Murray, 1999). Another statistic is that fourteen States required a minimum age of the death penalty at 18, while sixteen States said capital punishment was an option between the ages of 14 and 17 (Snell, 1998). This brings up the issue of, if the death penalty is accepted, what should the age limit be? Capital punishment is a topic full of debate and controversy. The history of the death penalty dates back to 1750 BC and it’s still making history today. PART 2.
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