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The History Of Capital Punishment

The History of Capital Punishment
Crime has been a plague on society from ancient times to present. In response to
this plague, society has formed structured rules to deal with the perpetrators of crime. A
crime can be defined as act that society's government deems as illegal. Different societies
have formed various methods and standards for evaluating crime and assigning
corresponding punishment. What constitutes a crime has changed throughout the course
of history. In ancient times, such extreme actions as the deliberate killing of another
human being for the sake of family honor or religious rite was considered socially
acceptable and therefore not legally wrong. Now, the majority of the modern world (with
perhaps the exclusion of some Middle Eastern sects) view the deliberate killing of another
human being as non-socially acceptable, and therefore legally wrong. The overall
exceptions to this rule are the taking of human life in the act of war and in punishment for
extreme crime(s) against humanity.
Punishment for crime has ranged from mild, in the form of fines, or incarceration,
to severe, in the form of physical torture or death. In ancient times, punishment for
serious crimes such as treason, theft, or murder was frequently severe and inhumane.
Offenders were often tortured for hours to be either left to die a slow and painful death or
be executed publicly. The use of the death penality has declined throught out the
industrial Western world since the 19th century.
The concept of confinement for punishment dates back to ancient times.
Imprisonment is generally a milder form of punishment which removes an individual from
society and confines him/her in an institution with other offenders. Examples of historical
places of confinement are London's Tower and Paris's Bastille. The Tower and Bastille
were used to confine political prisoners, not criminals in the ordinary sense. The common
jail has existed since...