The Supreme Court ruled on an appeal case in Furman v. Georgia. The case was in concern to the constitutionality over capital punishment. Those who brought the case argued that the death penalty was being applied arbitrarily and with extreme racial bias, the Supreme Court agreed. The court ruled for the states to make more precise laws so that the death penalty would be applied more consistently. (Bedau, 103-104). A majority of the states did so. As a result in the 1990's an increased number of states executed death row inmates. The sentence of death has been and is now an accepted form of justice. The methods of execution have been and are very diverse. There are many forms of execution. Many cruel methods of execution were used in the past. Beheading by ax or sword was a method used often in England during the 1500-1600's. The burning of someone at the stake was a popular method during the inquisition for heretics, witches and uppity women. In the past when hanging wasn't enough the convicted was drawn and quartered. This method consisted of carving the persons body into pieces while still alive; it was often combined with hanging. The method of impaling called for stakes driven through the person's body in such a way that the vital organs needed for survival were not pierced, prolonging a painful death. Crucifixion a form most people are familiar with by Christ's death was performed by nailing hands and feet to a cross in shape of a T and leaving the person to die. Drowning was a form of execution widely used to test for supposed witches. Another harsh method used was called pressing it consisted of a person laying under a slab" like surface and then heavy objects were placed on him or her until the person was crushed. The rack is a catchall term for a number of mechanical devices and practices, which cause torture and death by stretching the person. A few other forms of tortuous death were the sawing in half of a person, death by insects or animals, disembowelment, and shot by arrows.
