When European settlers came to the new world, they brought the practice of capital punishment. The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain. In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians.

The most compelling argument against capital punishment, however, is based on its actual administration in our society: the risk of killing an innocent person, disproportionate infliction on the poor and minorities, weakness of the deterrence argument, failure to recognize that destructive life histories of criminals may have damaged their humanity to the point that it is unfair to hold them fully accountable for their wrongdoing, and so on.

Putting people to death who have committed certain heinous acts of crime is a practice of ancient standing, but, in the United Stat

Finally, antagonists of the death penalty bring forth a good question: "what if the convicted is innocent?" As for the penal system accidentally executing an innocent person, I must point out that in this imperfect world, citizens are required to take certain risks in exchange for relative safety. After all, far more innocent lives have been taken by convicted murderers than the supposedly 23 innocents mistakenly executed this century.

Some topics in this essay:
Opposing Viewpoints, United Senate, Wesley Lowe, A&M University, God Taking, Columbine School, Martial Laws, Den Haag, North Carolina, , death penalty, capital punishment, surely death --, surely death, death --, penalty opposing viewpoints, public safety, personal conveniences, -- exodus, death -- exodus, opposed capital, death penalty opposing, opposing viewpoints, opposed capital punishment, accept risks,