
From the beginning of time until the 21st century, taking one’s life has been the ultimate punishment for his or her actions. Whether criminals are crucified on a cross or lethally inject with poison, putting someone to death is the most serious type of punishment and impacts more than just the person who is executed. There is no way to tell when the death penalty was first adopted but the practice of capital punishment has been passed down from one culture to another. However, as society advances, abolishment of the death penalty is becoming a trend among growing nations. There are still many nations, such as the United States, that use the death penalty and are currently making no efforts to abolish the practice. The argument between those supporting and opposing capital punishment has been ongoing for centuries. By analyzing the history and public opinion of this practice, it is easy for one to see that the death penalty is outdated and has posed a negative impact on society, which has resulted in the innocent deaths of many people. 

One of the most important aspects regarding this issue is the history of how the death penalty became popular and the ways it has been utilized among different nations. When focusing on the United States, the history of the death penalty is clear. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the English immigrants who settled in the United States brought the practice of the death penalty with them. England had a long list of capital crimes, crimes which were punishable by death, and all those crimes also became capital crimes in the United States. These crimes included things such as murder, theft, robbery, arson, burglary, counterfeiting, treason and manslaughter (Banner, Stuart. The Death Penalty: An American History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2002. Print.) In today’s world, putting someone to death for a crime such as theft or counterfeiting would be absurdly immoral. The most avid capital punishment supporters would disagree with the act of killing criminals of petty crimes. Since the death penalty was implemented in such a harsh time, the presence of it in today’s justice system is simply outdated and impractical. 

Along with the history of how capital punishment was implemented into society, it is also important examine the recent trends of the death penalty as they are occurring. A quote from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics says:

At yearend 2013, 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons held 2,979 inmates under sentence of death, which was 32 fewer than at yearend 2012. This represents the thirteenth consecutive year in which the number of inmates under sentence of death decreased.

The statement above is a clear indication that the popularity of the death penalty has decreased in recent years. Although this information is not current, it provides insight into how the death penalty has changed in the past. In addition to the information provided, the article itself was published by the U.S. Department of Justice which is a more than credible source (Snell, Tracy. "Capital Punishment, 2013 – Statistical Tables." Bureau of Justice Statistics (2014): n. page. U.S. Department of Justice. Web. 20 Jan. 2017.) An article published in 2003 also contains information regarding the death penalty and how its changed in recent years. The author mentions that capital punishment was abolished in over thirty countries between 1999 and 2001. He also includes that 109 countries reject the death penalty, 86 countries rarely utilize it, and no country in western Europe practices capital punishment (Soss 397). These statistics reinforce the fact that popularity for capital punishment is slowly decreasing on a global scale. Researching the recent changes and progress of an issue provide evidence for how the world perceives said issue. 

After analyzing the background information of the death penalty, the facts direct the reader to investigate the current public opinions. Donald R Rothwell published an article in the East Asia Forum on February 16th, 2017 that outlines the abolishment of capital punishment in many Asian countries. Rothwell focuses on Australia which has recently abolished the death penalty after many incidents regarding their citizens being executed in other countries. Although many surrounding nations such as Singapore and Indonesia still utilize capital punishment, Australia has become an advocate for abolishment (Rothwell, Donald. "Abolishing the death penalty in the Asia Pacific." East Asia Forum. East Asia Forum, 16 Feb. 2017. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.) After seeing how other countries influence one another to accept capital punishment, the same process is present in the effort to abolish these practices. Having Australia, a large and resourceful nation, supporting and encouraging surrounding nations to abolish capital punishment is the first step in making this a worldwide effort. Another statement the author made in this article is, “Australia is also in a good position to commence a campaign promoting the adoption of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR” (Rothwell.) Adopting this protocol to the ICCPR would have many positive impacts in terms of the death penalty in these nations. Article 6 of this document outlines the way in which the death penalty would be affected. The number of crimes that would involve the death penalty would be lowered which is a step in the right direction for many of these nations (Rothwell.)

When researching capital punishment and the impacts it has on today’s world, many readers will often group people together by country which distorts the view of opinions. It is imperative to include perspectives of many different groups when analyzing a social issue as popular as capital punishment. Catholicism is one of the largest religions in the world and they have a very concrete position on the death penalty. There is a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church which is posted on the United States of Conference of Catholic Bishops website which reads, “If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect peoples 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 more in conformity with the dignity of the human person” ("The Church's Anti-Death Penalty Position." The Church's Anti-Death Penalty Position. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.) The previous statement is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is a collection of beliefs of all faithful Catholics. The quote says that the authorities should only use the death penalty if it’s the only way to keep people safe. If it is possible to use non-lethal punishment and keep the public safe while doing so, then that is the best option. The Catholic Church bases their beliefs off the fact that all human beings have the same human dignity and that dignity should not be taken away unless an individual is causing harm to others. 

Supporters of the death penalty are becoming less and less common, however, they still have a strong presence in the United States. An example of this is our newly elected president, Donald Trump. He has made many different statements regarding the death penalty and its use in our society. In a speech given to a crowd in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, President Trump says that he plans to punish all those who harm policemen and policewomen. The punishment he has in mind is the death penalty. A quote from his speech reads, “One of the first things I’d do in terms of executive order if I win would be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country, out to the world, that anybody caught killing a policeman, policewoman, police officer, anybody killing a police officer: death penalty” (Ford, Matt. "Donald Trump's Racially Charged Advocacy of the Death Penalty." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.) Regardless of political stance, the statement he made supports the death penalty and its application in America. The reason he gives for using the death penalty is to punish those who purposely murder members of law enforcement. Although he wants to use this practice to establish a sense of fear and punishment, there are many other ways that President Trump can handle the situation. With capital punishment decreasing domestically and internationally, it would be counterproductive to begin using capital punishment to install fear in the public. 

A response to President Trump’s statement can be found in an article published in Time Magazine. The title of the article, The Death of the Death Penalty, initially gives the reader an idea of how the article will read. The main idea of this article is that the death penalty is decreasing in popularity among Americans. However, there are a few exceptions which supports of capital punishment tend to see as facts. An example of this is found in the investigation into the Boston Bombing which occurred in 2013. When authorities located the perpetrator, there was a poll held to gauge opinion on his punishment. Roughly seventy percent of those who responded to the poll were in favor of this criminal being put to death (Drehle, David Von. "Here's Why The Death Penalty Is Doomed in America." Time. Time, 8 June 2015. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.) Although this shows a change in public opinion for the death penalty, it does not represent a change in opinion. The author continues to state that many people become supporters of the capital punishment when they feel that the criminal is clearly guilty and the entire process is open to the public. However, capital punishment is still very costly and the results are always uncertain. Many of the criminals who are sentenced to death are never executed because of the everchanging conditions of the court and legislature (Drehle.)

