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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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< | 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 heinous 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. | | | 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. | | | An understanding of the relationship between religion and both the prescription and use of the death penalty in early America is crucial to finding answers to the question I am investigating. A number of the nascent colonies put great emphasis on God and the Bible and this was reflected in their laws, as will be shown. As noted earlier and as I will describe in detail here, the gradual dilution of religious ideals and diverging beliefs may have been an important factor leading to abolitionist movements. | |
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< | 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 need to keep 'order' amongst a population dominated by the presence of slaves and characterized by more uneven distribution of property. 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 peppered 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. | >
> | 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 need to keep 'order' amongst a population dominated by the presence of slaves and characterized by more uneven distribution of property. 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. | | | For much of the period relevant to this paper, religion also played a key role when it came to the executions themselves. Up until 1830 when Connecticut banned public executions, it seems that executions were carried out in public in all colonies (later states) and when it came to the actual 'ceremony' of hanging ministers were, during the earlier times, often in the limelight. Steelwater describes ministers in the Puritan hierarchy, for example, as "the masters of law, of innocence and guilt".
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| | | Utilitarianism and Philosophy | |
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< | In the context of abolition of capital punishment (at least for most common crimes), 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 noteworthy 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 perpetual penal servitude would be a more effective deterrent to crime, that witnessing executions was not a beneficial experience for the public, and that use of capital punishment reflected badly upon the state.
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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 noteworthy 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 perpetual penal servitude would be a more effective deterrent to crime, that witnessing executions was not a beneficial experience for the public, and that use of capital punishment reflected badly upon the state. | | | | |
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< | Thus, one begins to see some of the developments which ultimately led to the seeds of the pro-abolitionist movement in America. Perhaps the best way to elaborate upon and track these developments is to shed light upon the key reasons why the death penalty was believed to be desirable, and then show how these reasons became less persuasive over time and thus started to garner less support especially amongst an active and influential sector of the upper class. | >
> | Thus, one begins to see some of the developments which ultimately led to the seeds of the pro-abolitionist movement in America. A good way to elaborate upon and track these developments may be to shed light upon some of the key reasons why the death penalty was believed to be desirable and then show how these reasons became less persuasive over time and thus started to garner less support, especially amongst an active and influential sector of the upper class.
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 execution. Whether these prisons, or penitentiaries as they were sometimes called, were effective and whether they were 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. We may briefly note however that Pennsylvania, after its pioneering 1786 abolition of capital punishment for 'robbery, burglary, sodomy and buggery' did seem to experience some success with prison sentences as an alternative to the death penalty..
This brings us onto 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.
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- Cesare Beccaria's pervading influence
- The rise of abolition in America and the thinkers behind it (e.g. Rush, Livingston, Jefferson)
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