Capital Punishment
Introduction
Capital punishment is punishment by death for committing a crime. Since
the early 1800's most executions have resulted from convictions for murder. The
death penalty has also been imposed for such serious crimes as armed robbery,
kidnapping, rape, and treason. There is a lot of conflict between people about
whether or not capital punishment is effective in discouraging crime.
In the early 1990's, 36 states of the United States had laws that permitted
the death penalty. These laws were greatly influenced by a 1972 decision of the
Supreme Court of the United States which had banned the death penalty as it was
then imposed, describing the carrying out of the death penalty as cruel and
unusual punishment. But the court left open the possibility that the death
penalty might be imposed for certain crimes and if it was applied according to
clear standards.
After this decision was made, new capital punishment laws were made to
satisfy the......
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