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AngelaProject 14 - 28 Nov 2009 - Main.AngelaChen
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-- AngelaChen - 08 Nov 2009 | | | One of the key purposes of the Christian faith as it relates to the capital punishment was its fundamental use in bolstering the legitimacy of the death penalty. The 'Capital Laws' section of the 'Massachusetts Body of Liberties' is a clear example of this - each capital crime is accompanied by one or more references to the text of the Bible. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was perhaps unique in that it was heavily driven by (or even primarily founded because of) Puritan ideals; hence the use of capital punishment for a variety of 'moral' crimes until more secular views took hold. Contrast this with the much more prominent use of the death penalty for minor property crimes in the South, for a significant part motivated by the need to keep 'order' amongst a population dominated by the presence of slaves and characterized by more uneven distribution of wealth. However, though other colonies were perhaps not quite as fervently driven by religious beliefs, their early laws nonetheless reflected the paramountcy of faith, much more so then than in the present day. For instance, the Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall of Virginia is entitled with, opens with, and is interspersed throughout with religious references. The 'Almightie God' is essentially made out to be the fount of all justice, with offences such as blasphemy featuring prominently at the beginning of the text, punishable by death - this criminal code is the harshest of any in the colonies.
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< | For much of the period relevant to this paper, religion also played a key role when it came to the executions themselves. Until the late 17th century, when it came to the actual 'ceremony' of hanging ministers were often in the limelight. Steelwater describes ministers in the Puritan hierarchy, for example, as "the masters of law, of innocence and guilt". Ministers' duties surrounding an execution were chiefly two-fold: to the public on the one hand and to the condemned convict himself on the other. To the public, their role was to strike fear into the hearts of those contemplating crime and to emphasize the virtues of Godliness. Such large gatherings of people effectively became the ministers' congregation, so as long as they remained keenly interested in what ministers had to say, public executions had a supposedly pedagogical purpose. To the convict himself (or herself), ministers often represented a last hope of salvation in this world (i.e. getting a pardon) prior to the execution day, and a last hope of 'eternal salvation' via repentance on the day itself.
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> | For much of the period relevant to this paper, religion also played a key role when it came to the executions themselves. Until the late 17th century, when it came to the actual 'ceremony' of hanging ministers were often in the limelight. Steelwater describes ministers in the Puritan hierarchy, for example, as "the masters of law, of innocence and guilt". The writings of Cotton Mather, a minister from the Massachusetts Bay Colony who appears to have achieved significant fame, provide a good illustration of how highly prayers and sermons were regarded at the time: at the execution of one Sarah Smith, falling asleep during the prayer and sermon at her own execution ceremony was listed together with transgressions such as adultery, stealing and murdering her newborn. Ministers' duties surrounding an execution were chiefly two-fold: to the public on the one hand and to the condemned convict himself on the other. To the public, their role was to strike fear into the hearts of those contemplating crime and to emphasize the virtues of Godliness. Such large gatherings of people effectively became the ministers' congregation, so as long as they remained keenly interested in what ministers had to say, public executions had a supposedly pedagogical purpose. To the convict himself (or herself), ministers often represented a last hope of salvation in this world (i.e. getting a pardon) prior to the execution day, and a last hope of 'eternal salvation' via repentance on the day itself.
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| | | By the late 18th century, however, crowds were becoming unmanagable both due to an increase in size and a marked lessening of deference to ministers and public officials present. Executions "took on the atmosphere of a combined market day and festival" and ministers were now invitees of the community and no longer representatives of state religion. Therefore although ministers continued to attend executions their role was much diminished, with the long sermons to orderly gatherings being replaced by a brief prayer. The immediate consequence of this was that both the educational and deterrent purposes of public executions were greatly diminished. In addition to this, the loss of the original sense of religious mission in the New England colonies and growing moral and religious diversity led to a number of moral offenses being removed from the list of capital crimes. The decay of religion led to a vacuum of 'legitimation' which utilitarianism and philosophical thought sought to fill - not always successfully. Thus we see the beginnings of a development away from universal use of the death penalty.
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Mather_Pillars_of_Salt_1699.pdf" attr="" comment="Mather, Pillars of Salt Chapter XI (1699)" date="1259373196" name="Mather_Pillars_of_Salt_1699.pdf" path="Mather_Pillars_of_Salt_1699.pdf" size="837423" stream="Mather_Pillars_of_Salt_1699.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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AngelaProject 13 - 27 Nov 2009 - Main.AngelaChen
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-- AngelaChen - 08 Nov 2009 | | | Crimes that were typically punished by death at the time were murder and treason (which were prosecuted as capital offences in every colony at least for a certain period), rape, robbery, arson and capital cases of perjury (in most colonies), while the following were only subject to the death penalty in some: adultery, sodomy, bestiality, witchcraft and blasphemy).
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< | The 'death penalty' was carried out chiefly in the form of hangings both in England and America at the time (although there were, as Banner notes, other forms of execution 'worse than death' reserved for the most abominable crimes); it was the form of execution which required the least in terms of equipment and prowess. What hangings lacked in technical expertise, however, they more than made up for in ceremony.
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> | The 'death penalty' was carried out chiefly in the form of hangings both in England and America at the time (although there were, as Banner notes, other forms of execution 'worse than death' reserved for the most abominable crimes); it was the form of execution which required the least in terms of equipment and prowess. What hangings lacked in technical expertise, however, they more than made up for in ceremony.
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| | | The public nature of executions facilitated many of the purposes of the death penalty, such as deterrence and retribution (explored further in 'Utilitarianism and Philosophy', below). Shifts in attitude in these respects, together with wider social changes and key developments such as the advent of prisons, may help us answer the question which this paper poses. | | | | |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Banner_The_Death_Penalty.pdf" attr="" comment="Banner, The Death Penalty (2002)" date="1257731914" name="Banner_The_Death_Penalty.pdf" path="Banner_The Death Penalty.pdf" size="711047" stream="Banner_The Death Penalty.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Bedau_Titlepage.pdf" attr="" comment="Bedau, The Death Penalty in America (1968)" date="1258519645" name="Bedau_Titlepage.pdf" path="Bedau_Titlepage.pdf" size="901923" stream="Bedau_Titlepage.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Lawes_Divine,_Morall_and_Martiall.pdf" attr="" comment="Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall, Virginia (1611)" date="1259183734" name="Lawes_Divine,_Morall_and_Martiall.pdf" path="Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall.pdf" size="551885" stream="Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Rush_On_Punishment_of_Murder_by_Death.pdf" attr="" comment="Rush, On the Punishment of Murder by Death, 1792" date="1259214828" name="Rush_On_Punishment_of_Murder_by_Death.pdf" path="Rush_On_Punishment_of_Murder_by_Death.pdf" size="108527" stream="Rush_On_Punishment_of_Murder_by_Death.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Rantoul__report_on_the_abolition_of_capital_punishment.pdf" attr="" comment="Rantoul, Report on the Abolition of Capital Punishment, 1836" date="1259215141" name="Rantoul__report_on_the_abolition_of_capital_punishment.pdf" path="Rantoul _report_on_the_abolition_of_capital_punishment.pdf" size="371572" stream="Rantoul _report_on_the_abolition_of_capital_punishment.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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| META FILEATTACHMENT | attachment="Thackeray_Going_To_See_A_Man_Hanged.pdf" attr="" comment="William Makepeace Thackeray, Going to See a Man Hanged (1840) - part of a collection of his works" date="1259348721" name="Thackeray_Going_To_See_A_Man_Hanged.pdf" path="Thackeray_Going_To_See_A_Man_Hanged.pdf" size="161695" stream="Thackeray_Going_To_See_A_Man_Hanged.pdf" user="Main.AngelaChen" version="1" |
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AngelaProject 12 - 27 Nov 2009 - Main.AngelaChen
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-- AngelaChen - 08 Nov 2009 | | | Regulation of capital punishment in early America was, as one would expect, heavily influenced by its counterpart in England. However, even from the start one could note differences between the colonies, and notable divergence between the North and South in the type and range of crimes that were capitalized and later also the stance regarding abolition. | |
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> | Crimes that were typically punished by death at the time were murder and treason (which were prosecuted as capital offences in every colony at least for a certain period), rape, robbery, arson and capital cases of perjury (in most colonies), while the following were only subject to the death penalty in some: adultery, sodomy, bestiality, witchcraft and blasphemy). | | | The 'death penalty' was carried out chiefly in the form of hangings both in England and America at the time (although there were, as Banner notes, other forms of execution 'worse than death' reserved for the most abominable crimes); it was the form of execution which required the least in terms of equipment and prowess. What hangings lacked in technical expertise, however, they more than made up for in ceremony.
The public nature of executions facilitated many of the purposes of the death penalty, such as deterrence and retribution (explored further in 'Utilitarianism and Philosophy', below). Shifts in attitude in these respects, together with wider social changes and key developments such as the advent of prisons, may help us answer the question which this paper poses. |
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AngelaProject 11 - 27 Nov 2009 - Main.AngelaChen
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-- AngelaChen - 08 Nov 2009 | |
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< | Capital Punishment in America, 1607 - 1846 | >
> | Capital Punishment in America, 1611 - 1846 | | |
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< | This project is intended to investigate the changing nature of the legal regulation of capital punishment in America between 1607 and 1846. More specifically, I would like to explore the following question: how and why did the death penalty evolve from its position as the favored sanction for a whole array of crimes (taking the year of the first permanent British settlement in America - 1607 - as our starting date) to its legal abolition for all common crimes for the first time (Michigan, 1846)
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> | This project is intended to investigate the changing nature of the legal regulation of capital punishment in America between 1611 and 1846. More specifically, I would like to explore the following question: how and why did the death penalty evolve from its position as the favored sanction for a whole array of crimes - taking 1611, the year that the 'Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall' came into use in the first permanent British settlement in America (Virginia) as our starting date - to its legal abolition for all common crimes for the first time (Michigan, 1846) | | | One preliminary note: the bounds of my research will generally be restricted to the death penalty in the aforementioned period as it related to those other than slaves (the majority of whom were Blacks) - although the position of slaves at the time is clearly an important topic, I believe that it may be better dealt with in a separate inquiry. | | |
Utilitarianism and Philosophy | |
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< | In the context of abolition of capital punishment, probably few had such a pervading force as the Italian philosopher and politician Cesare Beccaria. His text 'On Crimes and Punishments' (Chapter 28 of which is about the death penalty and hence relevant for current purposes) influenced society in Europe and America alike. Indeed, members of American society who appear to have been the 'abolitionists' of the time, made references to him in their own arguments and theories. Beccaria's writings on capital punishment are also remarkable due to the emphasis placed on utilitarianism. Far from couching his exposition in religious terms or saturating them with obvious expressions of sympathy towards the sentenced, he devoted a large chunk of the chapter to - in his view - practical reasons why the death penalty should be abolished for all offences except treason. Inter alia, he suggested that 1) perpetual penal servitude would be a more effective deterrent to crime, that 2) witnessing executions was not a beneficial experience for the public, and that 3) the state was not justified in carrying out capital punishment. Elaborating on each: 1) The terror that "perpetual slavery" would instill would be more painful than sudden death and thus onlookers would be deterred from committing crime by the possibility that they too might suffer from thie fate. 2) Executions often aroused feelings of compassion mixed with scorn which detracted from the "salutary fear which the law [claimed] to inspire". 3) Argument that the state did not have authority to administer the death penalty, on grounds that if no single individual had a right to take his own life, then there could not be a collective right to kill (save for traitors).
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> | In the context of abolition of capital punishment, probably few had such a pervading force as the Italian philosopher and politician Cesare Beccaria. His text 'On Crimes and Punishments' (Chapter 28 of which is about the death penalty and hence relevant for current purposes) influenced society in Europe and America alike. Indeed, members of American society who appear to have been the 'abolitionists' of the time, made references to him in their own arguments and theories. Beccaria's writings on capital punishment are also remarkable due to the emphasis placed on utilitarianism. Far from couching his exposition in religious terms or saturating them with obvious expressions of sympathy towards the sentenced, he devoted a large chunk of the chapter to - in his view - practical reasons why the death penalty should be abolished for all offences except treason. Inter alia, he suggested that 1) perpetual penal servitude would be a more effective deterrent to crime, that 2) witnessing executions was not a beneficial experience for the public, and that 3) the state was not justified in carrying out capital punishment. Elaborating on each: 1) The terror of "perpetual slavery" as brought upon the convict by a long prison sentence would be more painful than sudden death and thus onlookers would be deterred from committing crime by the possibility that they too might suffer from thie fate. 2) Executions often aroused feelings of compassion mixed with scorn which detracted from the "salutary fear which the law [claimed] to inspire". 3) Argument that the state did not have authority to administer the death penalty, on grounds that if no single individual had a right to take his own life, society cannot derive a right to punish by death from the social contract (save for the special case of traitors). | | | | |
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< | One of the most prominent American philosophers inspired by Beccaria was Benjamin Rush, M.D., from Pennsylvania. Aside from attempting to turn the religious arguments in favor of the death penalty on their head, he developed utilitarian reasoning against capital punishment further in 'On the Punishment of Murder by Death' (1793).. Of particular noteworthiness was his recommendations for the introduction of permanent prisons. It is probably useful at this juncture to point out that Rush - like others - were influenced by the thoughts of John Locke who proposed that "human life began as a blank slate and was written on by experience" ; hence, presumably, the possibility of salvaging human nature via positive influences in prison with the possible added benefit of 'compensating' the society which had been wronged. One of the prevailing aims of capital punishment, and one that reflected the circumstances at the start of the period which this inquiry addresses, was incapacitation. The need for a way to ensure that heinous wrongdoers did not repeat their crimes led inexorably (at least formally) to the death sentence until 1790 for the simple reason that before that year, there were no 'prisons' to speak of where offenders could be held long-term instead of simply 'in jail' pending sentencing. However, when the Walnut Street Jail was built in Philadelphia, for the first time in America offenders could be kept in theory more or less permanently incapacitated without being executed. Whether these prisons, or penitentiaries as they were sometimes called, were effective and cost-effective could be the subject of a whole separate inquiry, but the salient point here is that at last a "realistic alternative to hangings" existed. These developments also meant that another of the justifications which had previously been put forward for capital punishment (namely facilitation of criminals' repentance) was undermined, since wrongdoers could now repent at leisure in the penitentiaries. Given the increasing uncertainty present in the sentencing and carrying out of capital punishment due to unwillingness of juries to convict and frequent pardons, prison may have been a more systematic and therefore effective method of punishment.
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> | One of the most prominent American philosophers inspired by Beccaria was Benjamin Rush, M.D., from Pennsylvania. Aside from attempting to turn the religious arguments in favor of the death penalty on their head, he developed utilitarian reasoning against capital punishment further in 'On the Punishment of Murder by Death' (1793).. Of particular noteworthiness was his recommendation for the introduction of permanent prisons. It is probably useful at this juncture to point out that Rush - like others - were influenced by the thoughts of John Locke who proposed that "human life began as a blank slate and was written on by experience" ; hence, presumably, the possibility of salvaging human nature via positive influences in prison with the possible added benefit of 'compensating' the society which had been wronged. One of the prevailing aims of capital punishment, and one that reflected the circumstances at the start of the period which this inquiry addresses, was incapacitation. The need for a way to ensure that heinous wrongdoers did not repeat their crimes led inexorably (at least formally) to the death sentence until 1790 for the simple reason that before that year, there were no 'prisons' to speak of where offenders could be held long-term instead of simply 'in jail' pending sentencing. However, when the Walnut Street Jail was built in Philadelphia, for the first time in America offenders could be kept in theory more or less permanently incapacitated without being executed. Whether these prisons, or penitentiaries as they were sometimes called, were effective and cost-effective could be the subject of a whole separate inquiry, but the salient point here is that at last a "realistic alternative to hangings" existed. These developments also meant that another of the justifications which had previously been put forward for capital punishment (namely facilitation of criminals' repentance) was undermined, since wrongdoers could now repent at leisure in the penitentiaries. Given the increasing uncertainty present in the sentencing and carrying out of capital punishment due to unwillingness of juries to convict and frequent pardons (see further discussion in next section), prison may have been a more systematic and therefore effective method of punishment. | | | | |
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< | The discussion above has already touched on the second and perhaps most oft-touted aims of capital punishment; viz., deterrence. Much was written on the effect (or lack of) that the existence of capital punishment had on would-be criminals. As noted above, Beccaria had already expressed his views about why 'perpetual slavery' would be a better deterrent than an instantaneous death. Those such as Beccaria and Rush lauding imprisonment as a more effective deterrant than the possibility of death may have been correct: after Pennsylvania's pioneering 1786 abolition of capital punishment for 'robbery, burglary, sodomy and buggery', "two of the first robbers tried under the new statute pleaded to be tried under the old instead, preferring the chance of an acquittal or a pardon to the certainty of a long prison sentence". did seem to experience some success with prison sentences as an alternative to the death penalty." However, success with prisons was certainly not universal. Since those sentenced to life imprisonment had nothing left to lose, so to speak, they sometimes carried out acts of desperation such as murdering their guards or attempting escape. This may have been one of the reasons why despite the agitations for reform or abolition of capital punishment, such agitations did not bear fruit in many instances and not every state hastened to adopt abolitionist measures even if their neighbors did.
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> | The discussion above has already touched on the second and perhaps most oft-touted aims of capital punishment; viz., deterrence. Much was written on the effect (or lack of) that the existence of capital punishment had on would-be criminals. As noted above, Beccaria had already expressed his views about why 'perpetual slavery' would be a better deterrent than an instantaneous death. Those such as Beccaria and Rush lauding imprisonment as a more effective deterrent than the possibility of death may have been correct: after Pennsylvania's pioneering 1786 abolition of capital punishment for 'robbery, burglary, sodomy and buggery', "two of the first robbers tried under the new statute pleaded to be tried under the old instead, preferring the chance of an acquittal or a pardon to the certainty of a long prison sentence". Thus there did seem to be some success with prison sentences as an alternative to the death penalty. However, success with prisons was certainly not universal. Since those sentenced to life imprisonment had nothing left to lose, so to speak, if the death penalty were abolished, they sometimes carried out acts of desperation such as murdering their guards or attempting escape. This may have been one of the reasons why despite the agitations for reform or abolition of capital punishment, such agitations did not bear fruit in many instances and not every state hastened to adopt abolitionist measures even if their neighbors did. | | |
In addition to these overarching changes, Steelwater notes that given the rapidly growing population, the wide usage of capital punishment would soon lead to administrative unworkability in actually implementing executions. Rush was of the opinion that 'capital punishments [were] the natural offspring of monarchical governments' - an opinion that probably resonated especially well given the not-too-distant reminder of the 'American Revolution'. Whilst Rush voiced his views in Pennsylvania, Robert Rantoul echoed elements of Beccaria and Rush in Massachusetts but added the Age of Enlightenment belief that society had the power of improvement and therefore could and must strive for its general progress; this again underlined the preferability of penitentiaries over executions.
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AngelaProject 10 - 26 Nov 2009 - Main.AngelaChen
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-- AngelaChen - 08 Nov 2009 | | | Regardless of how accurate or empirically justified the arguments of abolitionists were, their active efforts and the fact that opposition to capital punishment was part of an "international phenomenon" of transformation in penal thought (a number of European countries would abolish capital punishment entirely) were seminal in triggering the abolition of or at least reform of capital punishment in many (Northern) states, including Michigan, before the Civil War.
Judges, Juries et al.
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- Juries unwilling to convict those who they believed did not deserve to die, even if they were clearly guilty according to the letter of the law - undermined efficacy of the law
- Judges also increasingly likely to avoid imposing death penalties, by virtue of finding 'errors in due process'
- Clemency and benefit of clergy
- Development of 'fake punishments' and repercussions
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> | As Banner states, “capital punishment…was the base point from which other kinds of punishment deviated- When the state punished serious crime, most of the methods at its disposal were variations on execution”.
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| | | Wealth, Class, and Public Opinion
- More wealth led to ability to support institutions such as penitentiaries
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