Sparring Partners

The complex question of capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, reflects America’s changing attitudes toward justice and human rights. Capital punishment is legal in the US at the federal level and in 27 states. However, debates surrounding the ethics of government-sanctioned killing have persisted almost as long as the practice itself. Proponents of capital punishment believe that the threat of execution serves as a powerful deterrent against crime, saving lives by dissuading potential offenders. Advocates of capital punishment also argue that the practice provides closure to victim’s families. Opponents of capital punishment argue that the potential for errors in the legal system, coupled with the irreversible nature of execution, means that lives will likely be—and already have been—lost due to wrongful convictions. They also argue that the death penalty does not necessarily deter crime, and that racial discrimination is too often a factor in the legal system’s sentencing.

The death penalty came to America in the early colonial period from Britain, with executions ordered for offenses ranging from murder, to witchcraft and religious dissent. After US independence, capital punishment was legalized in the Bill of Rights: Although the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, the language of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution implies that the government can deprive its citizens of life, as long as they are given due process. However, the 19th century saw growing opposition to the seemingly arbitrary application and public nature of executions; three states—Michigan, Wisconsin, and Maine—outlawed the practice during this time. Other states responded by introducing alternate methods of execution, such as the electric chair. The 20th century witnessed a wave of changes in the practice of capital punishment. The landmark case of Furman v. Georgia (1972) temporarily suspended the death penalty, as the Supreme Court ruled that its application was arbitrary across states and, in many cases, violated the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. A majority of the states affected by this decision revised their capital punishment laws rather than abandon the practice all together; just four years later, Gregg v. Georgia reaffirmed the Supreme Court’s acceptance of capital punishment. In the 21st century, the increasing practice of using DNA evidence to exonerate those convicted of capital crimes has drawn further attention to the potential for injustice. In 2022, 18 people were executed in the United States.