Capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty and since ancient times it has been used to punish a wide variety of offenses. The Bible prescribes death for murder and many other crimes such as kidnapping and witchcraft. Major felonies carry the death penalty and some of these felonies are treason, murder, larceny, burglary, rape, and arson. In the 1800's however, England enacted many new capital offenses, and hundreds of persons were being …showed first 75 words of 1759 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1759 total…Death Penalty." American Lawyer Media. 29 December 1999. 8. Levine, Herbert. Political Issues Debated. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993. 9. Mills, Steve and Armstrong, Ken. "A Tortured path to Death Row." Chicago Tribune 17 Nov. 1995. 10. Innocence and the Death Penalty: The Increasing Danger of Executing the Innocent. Washington, DC. 1 Apr. 2000 11. MLK Speeches. Atlanta, Georgia. 25 July 2000. http://www.mccsc.edu/~bhsntech/speeches.html 12. Amnesty International: Program to Abolish Death Penalty. 13. Armstrong, Ken and Steve Mills. "Inept defense Clouds Verdict." Chicago Tribune. 15 November 1999.