Death Penalty

The first reported case of an execution in the United States was of Captain George Kendall, who was executed for being a spy for Spain (Bohm, 2007). The death penalty was brought to the United States by the European settlers. There have been an estimated 19,000 non military executions in the United States since the execution of Captain George Kendall.

Most of the people executed in the United States have been adult men. There are an estimated three percent of women who have been executed in the United States. The majority of the women who were executed, roughly 87 percent were executed before 1866. Jane Champion was the first woman to be executed in the United States in 1632 (Bohm, 2007). She was charged with the murder of her child and concealing the death.

About two percent of the people who have been executed were juveniles under eighteen. The individuals committed their offense prior to turning eighteen. The majority of the juveniles who were executed were black, roughly 69 percent while their victims were mostly white, about 90 percent. Juveniles have been executed for crimes such as murder, sodomy with animals, arson, robbery, assault and rape (Bohm, 2007). Juveniles are no longer executed in the United States due to a Supreme Court case which ended it.

There are some states in the United States that have abolished the death penalty. In 1846 Michigan abolished the death penalty for all crimes except treason. The death penalty punishment was replaced with life in prison in Michigan. Michigan was the first English-speaking jurisdiction in the world to abolish the death penalty. Rhode Island became the first state in 1852 to abolish the death penalty for all crimes including treason. Wisconsin was the second state to abolish the death penalty (Bohm, 2007).

There are several court cases which determined who can be executed. In Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that it was not constitutional to execute the mentally retarded...