Capital Punishments A.K.A. Death Penalty

Small Intro
Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. Historically, the execution of criminals and political opponents was used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. Among countries around the world, all European (except Belarus) and many Pacific Area states (including Australia, New Zealand and Timor Leste), and Canada have abolished capital punishment. In Latin America, most states have completely abolished the use of capital punishment, while some countries, however, like Brazil, allow for capital punishment only in exceptional situations, such as treason committed during wartime. The United States, Guatemala, most of the Caribbean and the majority of democracies in Asia (e.g. Japan and India) and Africa (e.g. Botswana and Zambia) retain it.

In most places that practice capital punishment today, the death penalty is reserved as punishment for premeditated murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries, sexual crimes, such as adultery and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy, the formal renunciation of one's religion. In many retentionist countries (countries that use the death penalty), drug trafficking is also a capital offense. In China human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are also punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offenses such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.

Capital punishment is a very contentious issue. Supporters of capital punishment argue that it deters crime, prevents recidivism, and is an appropriate form of punishment for the crime of murder. Opponents of capital punishment argue that it does not deter criminals more than life imprisonment, violates human rights, leads to executions of some who are wrongfully convicted, and discriminates against minorities and the poor.

The latest country to abolish the death penalty for all crimes was Rwanda in mid 2007

History
The use of formal execution extends at least to the beginning of recorded history. Most historical records as well as various primitive tribal practices indicate that the death penalty was a part of their justice system. Communal punishment for wrongdoing generally included compensation by the wrongdoer, corporal punishment, shunning, banishment and execution. However, within a small community, crimes were rare and murder was almost always a crime of passion. Moreover, most would hesitate to inflict death on a member of the community. For this reason, execution and even banishment were extremely rare. Usually, compensation and shunning were enough as a form of justice.

However, these are not effective responses to crimes committed by outsiders. Consequently, even small crimes committed by outsiders were considered to be an assault on the community and were severely punished. The methods varied from beating and enslavement to executions. However, the response to crime committed by neighbouring tribes or communities included formal apology, compensation or blood feuds.

A blood feud or vendetta occurs when arbitration between families or tribes fails or an arbitration system is non-existent. This form of justice was common before the emergence of an arbitration system based on state or organised religion. It may result from crime, land disputes or a code of honour. "Acts of retaliation underscore the ability of the social collective to defend itself and demonstrate to enemies (as well as potential allies) that injury to property, rights, or the person will not go unpunished. However, in practice, it is often difficult to distinguish between a war of vendetta and one of conquest.

For most of recorded history, capital punishments were often cruel and inhuman. Severe historical penalties include breaking wheel, boiling to death, flaying, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucifixion, impalement, crushing, stoning, execution by burning, dismemberment, sawing, scaphism, or necklacing.

Elaborations of tribal arbitration of feuds included peace settlements often done in a religious context and compensation system. Compensation was based on the principle of substitution which might include material (e.g. cattle, slave) compensation, exchange of brides or grooms, or payment of the blood debt. Settlement rules could allow for animal blood to replace human blood, or transfers of property or blood money or in some case an offer of a person for execution. The person offered for execution did not have to be an original perpetrator of the crime because the system was based on tribes, not individuals. Blood feuds could be regulated at meetings, such as the Viking things. Systems deriving from blood feuds may survive alongside more advanced legal systems or be given recognition by courts (e.g. trial by combat). One of the more modern refinements of the blood feud is the duel.

In certain parts of the world, nations in the form of ancient republics, monarchies or tribal oligarchies emerged. These nations were often united by common linguistic, religious or family ties. Moreover, expansion of these nations often occurred by conquest of neighbouring tribes or nations. Consequently, various classes of royalty, nobility, various commoners and slave emerged. Accordingly, the systems of tribal arbitration were submerged into a more unified system of justice which formalised the relation between the different "classes" rather than "tribes". The earliest and most famous example is Code of Hammurabi which set the different punishment and compensation according to the different class/group of victims and perpetrators. The Torah (Jewish Law), also known as the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Christian Old Testament), lays down the death penalty for murder, kidnapping, magic, violation of the Sabbath, blasphemy, and a wide range of sexual crimes, although evidence suggests that actual executions were rare. A further example comes from Ancient Greece, where the Athenian legal system was first written down by Draco in about 621 BC: the death penalty was applied for a particularly wide range of crimes. The word draconian derives from Draco's laws.

Similarly, in medieval and early modern Europe, before the development of modern prison systems, the death penalty was also used as a generalized form of punishment. For example, in 1700s Britain, there were 222 crimes which were punishable by death, including crimes such as cutting down a tree or stealing an animal. Thanks to the notorious Bloody Code, life in 18th Century (and early 19th Century) Britain was a hazardous place. For example, Michael Hammond and his sister, Ann, whose ages were given as 7 and 11, were reportedly hanged at King's Lynn on Wednesday, the 28th of September 1708 for theft. The local press did not, however, consider the executions of two children newsworthy.

Although many are executed in China each year in the modern age, there was a time in Tang Dynasty China when the death penalty was actually abolished altogether. This was in the year 747, enacted by Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 712-756), who before was the only person in China with the authority to sentence criminals to execution. Even then capital punishment was relatively infrequent, with only 24 executions in the year 730 and 58 executions in the year 736. Two hundred years later there was a form of execution called Ling Chi, slow slicing, or death by/of a thousand cuts, used in China from roughly 900 CE to its abolition in 1905.

Despite its wide use, calls for reform were not unknown. The 12th Century Sephardic legal scholar, Moses Maimonides, wrote, "It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent man to death." He argued that executing an accused criminal on anything less than absolute certainty would lead to a slippery slope of decreasing burdens of proof, until we would be convicting merely "according to the judge's caprice." His concern was maintaining popular respect for law, and he saw errors of commission as much more threatening than errors of omission.

The last several centuries have seen the emergence of modern nation-states. Almost fundamental to the concept of nation state is the idea of citizenship. This caused justice to be increasingly associated with equality and universality, which in Europe saw an emergence of the concept of natural rights. Another important aspect is that emergence of standing police forces and permanent penitential institutions. The death penalty become an increasingly unnecessary deterrent in prevention of minor crimes such as theft. Additionally, in countries like Britain, law enforcement officials became alarmed when juries tended to acquit non-violent felons rather than risk a conviction that could result in execution. The 20th century was one of the bloodiest of the human history. Massive killing occurred as the resolution of war between nation-states. A large part of execution was summary execution of enemy combatants. Also, modern military organisations employed capital punishment as a means of maintaining military discipline. In the past, cowardice, absence without leave, desertion, insubordination, looting, shirking under enemy fire and disobeying orders were often o punishable by death. One method of execution since firearms came into commhon use has almost invariably been firing squad. Moreover, various authoritarian states—for example those with fascist or communist governments—employed the death penalty as a potent means of political oppression. Partly as a response to such excessive punishment, civil organisations have started to place increasing emphasis on the concept of human rights and abolition of the death penalty.

Type of Executions
there are various type of execution which is all around the world.

-Beheading
This is an exectuion which is using any sharp materials to remove one's head. This type of execution is currently labeled as ancient type of death penalty but still practice in few countries.

-Electrocution
This is an execution which uses a special type of chair with a current of 1000V ~ 10000V to shocked the criminal till death. It's a cruel execution while viewer said the brain of criminal was "cooked"

-Gas Chamber
This type of execution uses a chamber to fill up with poisonous gas to make the criminal die poisoned.

-Lethal Injection
A type of execution which involves inject poison into the criminal's vein and wait around 10 - 30 mins to take away his life. Widely pratice in advanced countries such as U.S.A

-Hanging
A common type of execution which is praticed by our country(Malaysia). This method is to hang someone on to the rope and wait the criminal to die.
-Firing Squad
A row of shooter aiming the target(criminal) and shoots when the order of comander was given.

For (Agree)
The Capital punishments has became the law of country to punish those who have offended serious crime such as involving in killing or indulge in drug activities. This served as a basic guide line to scare those citizins to behave themselves and controlled themselves.
Also we believe that the capital punishments is used to be fair to those who have lost their beloved to murderer. They are applying the concept an eye for an eye concept to ensure that no one kills one easily and they have to pay back for they have done.

Against (Disagree)

The capital punishment had brought a lot of problems to the society. They think that capital punishment is a punishment to those who had commited heavy crimes. For instant, they think that it is right to take away one's life as he has done something wrong. "An eye for an eye" concept - revenge for those who has lost their beloved and never realising that they are taking away one's beloved. Everybody has their parents, any parents would feel sad if their children were involved in such crimes.
Besides, the capital punishments also is immoral. The way of taking one'sf life is really inhumane. As an example, the electric chair has made one's brain cooked or BBQed which is really disgusting and paying no respect to deaths.
Morever, the capital punishment is not always as fair as we could see. There could be innocense being executed and we can do nothing at all to review the truth.
The capital punishments is a sign hatress and start of revenge. This encourage
one's to hate each other and seen by God is a foolish act.

Religious
-Buddish

Buddish believe that if you get killed by ones' meaning that you owed his in the previous life. However, killing or taking one's life is forbidded as this is against the Buddhist theory of behaving good.

-Islam

Scholars of Islam hold it to be permissible but the victim or the family of the victim has the right to pardon. In Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), to forbid what is not forbidden is wrong. Consequently, it is impossible to make a case for abolition of the death penalty which is explicitly endorsed.

Sharia Law or Islamic law may require capital punishment, there is great variation within Islamic nations as to actual capital punishment. Apostasy in Islam and Stoning to Death in Islam are controversial topics. Furthermore, as expressed in the Qur'an, capital punishment is condoned. Although the Qur'an prescribes the death penalty for several hadd (fixed) crimes—including robbery, adultery, and apostasy of Islam—murder is not among them. Instead, murder is treated as a civil crime and is covered by the law of qisas (retaliation), whereby the relatives of the victim decide whether the offender is punished with death by the authorities or made to pay diyah (wergild) as compensation.

-Christianity

Although some interpret that Bible (World English)/John#Chapter 8 of the Bible condemns the death penalty, others consider Bible (World English)/Romans#Chapter 13 to support it; Christian positions on this, as on many social issues, vary. The promulgator of Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, was executed by crucifixion, and that method of execution became a symbol for Christianity (see Passion (Christianity)). Furthermore, numerous Catholic saints have been martyred by usage of the death penalty.

-Catholic Church

The Catholic Church traditionally accepted capital punishment as per the theology of Thomas Aquinas (who accepted the death penalty as a necessary deterrent and prevention method, but not as the means of vengeance; see also Aquinas and the death penalty). Under the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, this position was refined. As stated in John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae, the Catholic Church holds that capital punishment should be avoided unless it is the only way to defend society from the offender in question, and that with today's penal system such a situation requiring an execution is either rare or non-existent. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says "Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If, however, nonlethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.
Anglican & Episcopalian
The Lambeth Conference of Anglican and Episcopalian bishops condemned the death penalty in 1988.

-United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church, along with other Methodist churches, also condemns capital punishment, saying that it cannot accept retribution or social vengeance as a reason for taking human life. The Church also holds that the death penalty falls unfairly and unequally upon marginalized persons including the poor, the uneducated, ethnic and religious minorities, and persons with mental and emotional illnesses. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church calls for its bishops to uphold opposition to capital punishment and for governments to enact an immediate moratorium on carrying out the death penalty sentence.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
In a 1991 social policy statement, the ELCA officially took a stand to oppose the death penalty. It states that revenge is a primary motivation for capital punishment policy and that true healing can only take place through repentance and forgiveness.

Reference List
http://lawpresentation.tripod.com/page1.html
http://civilliberty.about.com/od/capitalpunishment/ig/Types-of-Executions/
www.dictionary.com
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/issues/pu-vscap.htm
http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/OApp/OAppWeat.htm
http://www.geocities.com/pdaug1pg/End_Capital_Punishment.html
http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/capital_hist.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/reasons-against-capital-punishment-death-penalty.html