Capital punishment spread from European settlers to the Americas in the 17th century. “Britain influenced America’s use of the death penalty more than any other country.” (Early). In 1608 the first known execution happened in Jamestown in the colony of Virginia, and Captain George Kendall was executed by firing squad for being a spy for Spain (Early).
7 Important Supreme Court Cases:
These seven cases altered and modified the capital punishment system in the United States (Major).
- 1972 – In Furman v. Georgia, the court ruled that capital punishment is unconstitutional and was considered, “cruel and unusual punishment”.
- 1976 – In Gregg v. Georgia, the court determined that the death penalty was not a form of “cruel and unusual punishment” and therefore, was not a violation of the 8th amendment.
- 1977 – In Coker v. Georgia, the court decided the death penalty was too harsh and excessive for the penalty for rape.
- 2002 – In Atkins v. Virginia, the court ruled that taking a life of a person with an intellectual disability is considered to be unconstitutional and is against the 8th amendment.
- 2005 – In Roper v. Simmons, the court ruled that executing a child under the age of 18 is unconstitutional and was not allowed.
- 2008 – In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the court decided if a crime against an individual and no murder was committed, then the death penalty is unconstitutional.
- 2008 – In Baze v. Rees, the court ruled that the lethal protocol is constitutional.
Currently in the United Stated, 23 states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty (see the map). And three states have a moratorium on the death penalty. The first state that abolished the death penalty was Wisconsin. While the most recent state that abolished the death penalty was Virginia.
Recent servuyes shows that the number of supporter of the death penalty has decreased to 55%, while opponents of the death penalty have increased to 46%. Also, the number of death sentences and executions has decreased significantly in the U.S over the past few years. In 2020 there were only 18 executions that is extremely low compared to the number of executions in the Middle East.