What Is A Capital Offense?

Have you ever hear the word capital offense used and wondered what it means?

We'll answer:

• What is a capital offense?

• Crimes that offenders can get the death penalty

• The history of capital offenses

• Why many countries and people generally object to capital punishment.

• Commonly asked questions about what happens after being convicted.

What is a capital offense?

A capital offense, sometimes called a capital crime, is any crime that conviction can lead to the death penalty. These crimes carry punishments of life imprisonment to being punishable by death.

Even though the maximum punishment is the death penalty, a conviction does not guarantee that someone who is convicted will actually be executed. The crimes that qualify as a capital offense have changed over the years as the values of societies have changed.

Each state and country has it's own laws about capital offenses. In the U.S. the constitution protects against cruel and unusual punishment. This has occasionally disrupted capital offenses Currently,

China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Belarus, Malaysia, and Thailand., Somalia and South Sudan, Taiwan and North Korea,

The following countries allow capital punishment but have not executed someone in more than 10 years.

• South Korea

• Brunei

• Russia

Which crimes are capital offenses that receive the death penalty?

According to Death Penalty Information Center, the only capital offense that anyone has been convicted of is first degree murder because the Supreme Court has ruled that it is not an acceptable punishment for rape or when no deaths occurred.

Rulings or legal changes could occur that change that, but they would most likely be for charges like treason or terrorism, but even then they would likely have deaths caused by them.

Historical Uses of Capital Punishment

Capital punishment goes back a long time. In fact it goes all the way back to biblical times. We'll look at the capital offenses in the Bible, middle ages, and modern era.

What Is The Capital Offense In The Bible?

The Old Testament laid out the definition of a capital offense according to Judaism, Christianity, and even Islam. Like modern times, a capital offense was a crime punishable by death, but it included some offenses that today would be considered highly questionable including:

• Murder: Taking a human's life intentionally was a capital offense like it is today.

• Idolatry: Worshipping false gods or objects was a capital offense. While today we think that's crazy, imagine what the world would be like if all the people who worship money over all else were no longer with us.

• Rebellion: Failing to abide by God's law was a capital offense. Today there is so much diversity in religions that this would be an issue.

• Bestiality: Having sex with animals was punishable with a death penalty. Maybe it should still be. On the other hand, do you ever question whether this is how half-man/half-beast mythological creatures like the centaur were created?

• Blasphemy: This is saying things that go against God's word. This would go against the First Amendment of the Constitution.

• Witchcraft: I have no idea how powerful witches back in the day might have been, but most people don't accept that they have magical powers. Back in the day they would burn witches though. You might like learning about necromancy.

The Bible mentions ways to execute a person including throwing stones at them, burning them at the stake, beheading, and don't forget crucifixion.

Middle Ages

Prisoners didn't have rights like they do today. They would routinely be tortured to extract information and would sometimes die from it. In addition, they would not be well fed which means they could die of starvation or dehydration. Even more crazy is some of the inhumane forms of punishment they used back then including:

• Beheading: This is when you cut off someones head. Axes and swords were used before the invention of the guillotine.

• Boiling To Death: Counterfeiters would be burned to death in boiling water or oil.

• Burning: Burning at the stake was used for witches and heretics. When you think about this, we live in a much more civilized time.

• Crucifixion: Nailing a person to the cross was used from Biblical times to the middle ages to kill people. Their deaths would take up to a week and were publicly viewable to show what happens when you break the law.

• Crushing: This form of torture and punishment was similar to a medieval Saw movie. They'd slowly crush a person's head until their eyes popped out, their skull crushed, and their neck broke.

• Hanging: Hanging people was really common.Even petty theft could be a reason to be hung. They would be done in public executions to discourage breaking the law.

• Hung, Strung and Quartered: This punishment was reserved for high treason. They would be hung, but not allowed to die. Then they would be cut open, have their insides thrown into the fire, then cut into multiple pieces and be posted on the side of the road.

• Impalement: Witches, pedophiles, and baby killers would be speared with a stake and left to bleed out.

• Sawing: They would hang people upside down, saw partway to all the way through their body, and leave them to bleed out over several days.

• The Wheel: This device would gradually break all a person's limbs.

This section is a summary of the blog by Sky History.

Death Sentence in The Modern Era

Capital punishment was historically used for a wider range of offenses, including rape and robbery, but is currently limited to murder in practice. Death penalty statutes are influenced by public opinion and political pressures, with significant variation across states.

The state and federal death penalty was ruled unconstitutional in 1972, and state officials reinstated it through defining the appeals process in 1976. The federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988 with a very narrow class of offenses eligible for it.

The principle of 'felony murder' holds accomplices liable for a murder that occurs during the commission of a felony, which can lead to death penalty charges.

Today in the United States, the most humane way to kill people is typically chosen. Lethal injection is the most common followed by electrocution. Some states also allow hanging, gas chamber and, a firing squad. I feel like a firing squad would be more cost effective, but what do I know. Plus it would give murderabilia collectors cool souvenirs to collect.

In addition to the methods allowed in the United States some countries allow gas asphyxiation or Nitrogen hypoxia (depriving of air using nitrogen).

Concerns About Crimes Punishable By Death

Some people are concerned that the death penalty should not be used. There are a variety of arguments for why people would want to abolish capital punishment.

My personal opinion is capital cases should only be used in the most horrific crimes like serial killers torturing people. When they are convicted, the appeals should be expedited to help reduce the cost of housing, and the death sentence should always be carried out by firing squad.

We'll discuss reasons people may be against the death penalty below.

Human Rights

Capital punishment often uses painful methods that can fail, which fall under 8th Amendment banning cruel and unusual punishment.

According to Austin Sarat in the book Gruesome Spectacles, there is between a 1.92% and 7.12% failure rate in the forms of executing the death penalty with the exception of the firing squad.

Wrongfully Accused

According to The High Court between 2% and 10% of people who are in prison are wrongfully accused. That means that we are carrying out death sentences on between one and four people each year based on the number of executions since the year 2000. At least 200 people sentenced to death since 1973 have been exonerated in the United States.

Ineffective Deterrent

Capital punishment doesn't actually discourage people from committing crimes. Given first degree murder is the only crime that has received the death penalty in recent years, and murder often is impulsive, people don't think about what's going to happen if they kill someone.

In addition, there are numerous studies that show socioeconomic standing is most associated with crime rates. That would suggest the best way to discourage crime is to improve socioeconomic conditions.

It should be noted that the Philadelphia Federal Reserve published a report that found otherwise, but I would be interested to see if there is a lag between when the poverty rate increases and when the murder rate increases.

Costs

The CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, found the death penalty costs an average of $1.12 million more than a murder case where the death penalty is not pursued. This is primarily because of the more costly lawyer fees and the costs of housing the inmate in Death Row.

Bias In How It's Used

When you look at how the death penalty states pursue capital punishment cases, there are a disproportionate number of black people who have been executed.

African Americans comprise 41% of death row inmates in the United States. That's nearly 3x the percentage of the population. In addition when you compare white-on-black to black-on-white murderers who get the death penalty it's a 10:1 ratio.

Capital Crimes FAQ

What States Have Abolished The Death Penalty?

Currently twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have abolished the death penalty. Another four states have an executive order not to execute prisoners.

The states that have banned the death penalty are Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

California, Ohio, Oregon, and Pennsylvania are not executing people by executive order.

In the United States, the death penalty is a legal penalty in 27 states.

Meanwhile the federal government currently allows the death penalty, but it changes depending on the President. It should be noted that Biden commuted the death penalty for all but three people on the federal government's death row list. the exclusions were:

• Robert Bowers: 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue

• Dylann Roof: 2015 mass shooting at a Black church in Charleston, S.C.

• Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: 2013 Boston Marathon bomber.

Why Does Death Row Take So Long?

Death row takes so long because there is an appeals process that takes an average of 12 years assuming that all appeals proceed without delays. The Supreme Court decision Furman v. Georgia (1972) ruled the death penalty unconstitutional because the decisions to pursue it was arbitrary and discriminated against minorities.

This forced states that support capital punishment to rewrite the laws to define the appellate process so that a defendant couldn't claim racial discrimination. Many states did so and the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in Gregg v Georgia (1976). You can check out what the appeal process for capital murder looks like in Georgia here.

What Is Death Row Like?

Death Row sucks. I wouldn't want to be there. Here's what it looks like when someone is convicted of crimes punishable by death.

• Solitary Confinement: Death row inmates are isolated for long periods of time (Up to 23 hours per day). This can create mental health issues

• Limited Human Contact: Their only interactions are typically guards serving them food, exercise, appeals court, and potentially visitors.

• Restricted Access: Their visitation is restricted compared to other prisoners because of the security issues.

• Minimal Amenities: Their cell is just a bed, toilet, and sink.

  Cells are small and often feature basic furnishings like a bed, a toilet, and a sink. 

• Limited Exercise and Recreation: There may be little to no recreational time for people who commit capital offenses. . 

• Death Watch: Inmates are more highly monitored once the execution date is set.

• Last Meal: They get their favorite meal before they are executed.

• Execution: The inmate gets lethal injection or electric chair in most scenarios.