Capital Punishment is a new idea or way of dealing with criminals. This has been around for ages and dates back as far as the 18th century B.C. With more and more liberals stepping forward, more and more laws and bans have been placed and issued concerning the death penalty, or capital punishment. We've looked high and low for alternate and more humane ways of dealing with society's most disgusting people. Capital Punishment has been round and round, banned, just to be reinstated again. One day we will find a better way, until then we are stuck with the death penalty and its many problems such as; appeals, being humane, and our tax dollars at work.
Before you can learn about how it applies today and its future, you must know its past. IN 18th century B.C. according to pbs.org, the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon established the death penalty for twenty five different crimes, with murder not included. The first death penalty sentence to ever be recorded was that of 16th century B.C. in Egypt, where a noble was accused of performing magic. He was forced to take his own life. Most people during this time where killed with an ax. In the 14th century B.C. Hittite code was put into place as the death penalty. 7th century Draconian code of Athens made the death penalty the only option for when you committed a crime. In the 5th century B.C. the Roman law of the Twelve Tablets enforced the death penalty among its rule. Like in Egypt, this code was different for the noble, free men, and slaves.
Some of the crimes punishable by the death penalty under this law were; insulting hymns, cutting or grazing of crops planted by someone other than you, cheating on your spouse, making noise in the late hours of the night, and stealing someone's slave. Kind of some crazy laws punishable by the death penalty, right? Need I mention that the actual killing part of this law was often very cruel and heinous. People were often crucified, drowned, and beat to death.
