Capital punishment is an enduring American tradition. The United States is the only Western country in the world that executes prisoners, and in recent years the number of executions has increased dramatically. Americans firmly believe in capital punishment despite the findings of most social scientists that it has little or no effect on future acts of homicidal violence. Thus America appears to have retained the death penalty merely based on its psychological effect on the public.
Capital punishment is imposed for any crime that is judged worthy to be punished by death. Such punishment has traditionally been reserved for the most serious of crimes. In the modern era, a death sentence is only carried out after a prisoner has exhausted a lengthy appeals process.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint with accuracy when capital punishment first appeared in history, the practice has always been a part of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Old Testament of the Bible contains numerous references to death as a punishment for various crimes. One of the most frequently cited is the "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot" passage (Exodus 21:24). Death was also mandated for a variety of other circumstances. For instance, if an ox killed a man or woman and the ox's owner was aware of the animal's malicious tendencies both ox and owner were stoned to death (Exodus 21:29).
Intent was a crucial factor in the imposition of the death penalty in the Old Testament. Cities of refuge were set aside for people who committed involuntary manslaughter. In fleeing to these cities the killer could escape the bloodthirsty avengers of the deceased. But if the killer intentionally killed another human being, a penalty of death was imposed with swiftness and severity: "The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him" (Numbers 35:19).
Capital punishment in America began ...