Capital punishment has been a controversial topic since its existence. Issues on the execution methods such as if its reasonable punishment to the crime, or who receives the death penalty, and innocence have been researched for years. Capital punishment is still a form of "deterrence" in the United States for crimes considered the worst or most horrific. In this paper I will discuss the history of the death penalty. I will also discuss information on how the execution is done, and the fairness of the death penalty. The beginning of the death penalty in America comes from the influence of Britain. The death penalty was a common punishment in British culture and the British brought it with them when they came to America. The death penalty was used as punishment for a lot of crimes, from murder to stealing. In 1612 the Divine, Moral and Marital laws were passed. The laws allowed the punishment of death for petty crimes like stealing, killing animals, and trading with Native Americans. Executions were a public event until the 1830's, but most were eventually moved to the inside of prisons. However, there were some executions (especially in the South and West) that were done in public until the twentieth century. The laws and regulations to the death penalty were different from colony to colony (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011).
Even though capital punishment was common there were critics of the practice. Some questioned its morals and if it would be effective to prevent crime. There were many peoplesupporting the movement to eliminate the death penalty. Philadelphia's General William Bradford convinced Pennsylvania to develop different degrees of murder. Pennsylvania repealed the death penalty for all criminal offenses other than first degree murder (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011). In the nineteenth century many states began to abolish the death penalty for most crimes except for murder and treason.
