De Palo Gabriele 2°C
Death Penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state - sanctioned murder
of a natural person as punishment for a crime. The sentence that orders someone to
be punished with the death penalty is called the death sentence and the act of
carrying out that sentence is known as execution. Crimes punishable by death are
murder, aggravated cases of rape, terrorism, war crimes, genocide, piracy and the
hijacking of aircraft. 48 countries retain the death penalty including: China, India,
United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran,
Japan and Taiwan. The death penalty was used by almost all societies from the
beginning of civilizations on Earth until the nineteenth century because there were
no developed prison systems. In ancient times, a person was offered for execution
who did not have to be the original perpetrator of the crime because the social system
was based on tribes and clans, not individuals.
The penalties associated with the offenses were transcribed in some manuscripts. The
oldest and most famous example is the Code of Hammurabi which establishes the
different penalties and compensation, based on the different class / group of victims
and perpetrators. Another example of a manuscript is the Torah (Jewish Law), also
known as the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Christian Old Testament),
establishes the death penalty for murder, kidnapping, the practice of magic,
blasphemy and a wide range of sex crimes.
Beheading of John the Baptist
Mexican execution by firing squad, 1916