The History and Law Based Around The Death Penalty

The use of death penalty toaday is much different from before though 72 countries still maintain it, at this point already 92 countries have abolished it! The first laws based on the death penalty were formed in the 18th century B.C. (1742 B.C.) by King Hammurabi under the first group of laws made known as “The Code of King Hammurabi” or Codex Hammurabi .
The “grouping” of law consisted of 282 codes by which the judges were too distribute appropriate punishments with their corresponding crimes. There are around 30 laws describing a death procedure for crimes, found in “The Code” but laws 13 and 66-99 are missing. The law was based on earlier versions such as; the codex of Ur-Nammu, the Codex of Eshnunna and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin. The list of the death penalty laws is placed below with their chronological number in the codex: click here
The next closest thing to series of laws based around the death penelty was that of Athen in the 7th b.c. known as the Draconian Laws of Athens. Though there some less signeficant laws passed previously passed since according to Aristotle, the fist law making council was formed in 683 BC whilst Draco formed the laws in 621 BC. The group consisted of six junior archons- lawmakeror known as thesmotetai.
Draco's laws were formed by the result of aristocratic political battles for power in Athens during his lifetime. After Cylon, another aristocrat, attempted tyranny it is beleived through the force and pressure of greek hoplites (foot soldiers) that Draco was pushed into making a set laws that could stabilize the Athenian people. His laws actually had the opposite affect it caused a large margin of discontent amongst the peasents as well a certain disgust in general his laws put such crime as having inifiscient funds for an unpaid debt would put you in slavery or the fact that most of the laws (over 55) contained a prosecution of death. This made people uncomfortable because it put's a person who steals an apple in the same low level as a serial murderer. Later these laws were reformed by Solon to a more ethical approach by removingevery death penalty except the one for murder.
The nearest closest historical event based with the death penalty or capital punishment was under the rule of William the Conquorer. In the previous century (10th) the method of executing through hanging. William was a reformer or abolitionist, against the executions of the previous centuries, with the exceptionof war. Though this reorganization of criminal punishment lasted for but in the 16th century it all went back to normal.



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