{"id":352330,"date":"2023-09-13T10:51:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T15:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/criminal\/criminal-procedure\/the-u-s-and-the-death-penalty.html"},"modified":"2023-09-13T10:51:30","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T15:51:30","slug":"the-u-s-and-the-death-penalty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/criminal\/criminal-procedure\/the-u-s-and-the-death-penalty.html","title":{"rendered":"Death Penalty Law in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Death Penalty Law in the U.S.<\/h1>\n
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\n By Linda Sanabria, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Melissa Bender, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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Criminal laws that cover the death penalty have changed repeatedly through the years. Legal history shows a long struggle over morality and crime deterrence. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

European settlers brought capital punishment with them when they came to the colonial United States. Today, public sentiments toward capital punishment vary. <\/p>\r\n

The following is an overview of the death penalty’s history in the United States. Learn about key death penalty cases in the U.S. criminal justice system. Or, if you need direct legal advice for a current case, talk to a criminal defense attorney<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

17th Century America<\/h2>\r\n

Capt. George Kendall was likely the first person executed in 17th century America. His killing in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608 was the colonies’ first recorded execution. Kendall was allegedly a spy<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale, deputy governor of the colony of Virginia, issued a set of regulations that were published the next year in "Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall<\/a>." Dale’s code prescribed the death penalty for a range of minor offenses. Stealing fruit or trading with Native Americans without permission could be enough to warrant capital punishment.<\/p>\r\n

Death penalty laws varied from colony to colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony held its first execution in 1630. More than a decade later, the Capital Laws of New England<\/a> went into effect. Witchcraft, adultery, and blasphemy were all punishable by death.<\/p>\r\n

The New York Colony constituted the Duke’s Laws<\/a> in 1665. Under these laws, striking one’s parent was punishable by death.<\/p>\r\n

The Revolutionary Era<\/h2>\r\n

In 1764, an essay changed how the Western world viewed punishment. Many people in the U.S. colonies were reading "On Crimes and Punishments<\/a>" by Cesare Beccaria, an aristocrat in Milan. In his work, Beccaria wrote that there was no justification for the state’s taking of a life.<\/p>\r\n

Scholars in the United States were also affected by Beccaria’s work. Some believed that capital punishment was a violation of human rights. The first known attempt to reform the death penalty came in 1785<\/a>. A committee led by Thomas Jefferson backed an attempt to limit the death penalty<\/a>. Under the Virginia bill, only first-degree murder and treason would be punishable by death. One vote defeated the bill, which never became law.<\/p>\r\n

Other challenges to early capital punishment laws followed. Many believed the death penalty was not an actual deterrent. Benjamin Rush, one of the nation’s Founding Fathers and a founder of the Pennsylvania Prison Society<\/a>, was one famous opponent. He argued that the existence of a sentence of death led to more criminal behavior through "brutalization."<\/p>\r\n

The 19th Century<\/h2>\r\n

In the 1800s, the abolitionist movement began to gain support. Although state laws differed, many states reduced the number of capital offenses. Instead, they built state penitentiaries. In 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state to move executions away from the public sphere. Instead, correctional facilities would conduct executions.<\/p>\r\n

In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty<\/a> for all crimes except treason. Within a decade, Rhode Island and Wisconsin moved to abolish the death penalty for all crimes.<\/p>\r\n

While some states began abolishing the death penalty, most held onto it. Some states even increased the amount of crimes punishable by death. Many crimes committed by enslaved people, for example, were punishable by death.<\/p>\r\n

Many considered the 1838 enactment of discretionary death penalty statutes<\/a> to be considerable reform. These statutes were active in states like Tennessee and Alabama. Before the passage of these statutes, all states mandated the death penalty upon conviction of a capital crime. It didn’t matter if there were any disparities during a defendant’s capital case. The sentence was death.<\/p>\r\n

During the Civil War, opposition to the death penalty diminished. Some scholars suggest this was likely due to increased attention to the anti-slavery movement. After the war, new developments in the means of executions<\/a> emerged. In 1888, New York introduced the electric chair. Other states followed, authorizing the electric chair as a method of execution.<\/p>\r\n

The Progressive Period<\/h2>\r\n

From 1907 to 1917, six states outlawed the death penalty altogether. These abolitionist reforms didn’t last long. By 1920, five of those states returned to capital punishment.<\/p>\r\n

In 1924, Nevada introduced cyanide gas as a more humane method of execution. The 1920s to the 1940s saw a revival in the use of the death penalty as a deterrent.<\/p>\r\n

In the 1950s, public sentiment began to turn against capital punishment. Many allied nations either abolished or limited the death penalty. In the U.S., the number of executions significantly dropped.<\/p>\r\n

In 1966, support for capital punishment reached an all-time low. This support continued into the 1970s. In 1972, a Supreme Court decision placed a moratorium on the death penalty in all states in Furman v. Georgia<\/i><\/a>. States could reinstate the death penalty after Furman <\/i>if they removed discriminatory factors.<\/p>\r\n

A new Supreme Court case, Gregg v. Georgia<\/i><\/a>, followed four years later. The justices ruled in that case that the death penalty no longer violated the 14th and Eighth amendments.<\/p>\r\n

In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection<\/a> as a method of execution. Lethal injection was allegedly more humane and cost-effective than gas chambers and electrocution.<\/p>\r\n

Capital Punishment Today<\/h2>\r\n

The U.S. Department of Justice authorizes federal death penalty cases. Afterward, the court prosecutes those federal cases.<\/p>\r\n

The United States Code<\/a> contains federal crimes that call for capital punishment. <\/a>These crimes include:<\/p>\r\n