Opposition to capital punishment in the United States
Encyclopedia
Opposition to capital punishment
in the United States existed as early as the colonial period. Opposition to the death penalty peaked in 1966 , rising to 47% opposition, higher than those who supported it (42%), the rest (11%) had 'no opinion'. The death penalty increased in popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s, peaking in 1994 at 80%; since then, the anti-death penalty movement has strengthened again and the most recent Gallup poll in 2011 shows that 35% of Americans oppose the death penalty, an increase of over 80% over the last 17 years.
philosophers such as Montesquieu, Voltaire
(who became convinced the death penalty was cruel and unnecessary ), and Bentham
. In addition to various philosophers, many members of Quakers, Mennonites and other peace churches
opposed the death penalty as well. Perhaps the most influential essay for the anti-death penalty movement was Cesare Beccaria's 1767 essay, On Crimes and Punishment. Beccaria’s strongly opposed the state’s right to take lives and criticized the death penalty as having little deterrent effect. After the American Revolution
, influential and well-known Americans, such as Thomas Jefferson
, Benjamin Rush
, and Benjamin Franklin
made efforts to reform or abolish the death penalty in the United States. All three joined the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, which opposed capital punishment. Following colonial times, the anti-death penalty movement has risen and fallen throughout history. In Against Capital Punishment: Anti- Death Penalty Movement in America, Herbert H. Haines describes the presence of the anti-death penalty movement as existing in four different eras.
Although some called for complete abolition of the death penalty, the elimination of public hangings was the main focus. Initially, abolitionists opposed public hangings because they threatened public order, caused sympathy for the condemned, and were bad for the community to watch. However, after multiple states restricted executions to prisons or prison yards, the anti-death penalty movement could no longer capitalize on the horrible details of execution.
The anti-death penalty gained some success by the end of the 1850s as Michigan
, Rhode Island
, and Wisconsin
passed abolition bills. Abolitionists also had some success in prohibiting laws that placed mandatory death sentences of convicted murderers. However, some of these restrictions were overturned and the movement was declining. Conflict between the North and the South in the run-up to the American Civil War
and the Mexican–American War
took attention away from the movement.
In addition, the anti-gallow groups who were responsible for lobbying for abolition legislation were weak. The groups lacked strong leadership, because most members were involved in advocating for other issues as well, such as slavery abolishment and prison reform. Members of anti-gallow groups did not have enough time, energy, or resources to make any substantial steps towards abolition. Thus, the movement declined and remained latent until after the post-Civil War period.
and progressive
reforms contributed to the reawakened anti-capital punishment sentiment. In addition, a “socially conscious” form of Christianity and the growing support of “scientific” corrections contributed to the movement’s success. New York introduced the electric chair in 1890. This method was supposed to be more humane and appease death penalty opponents. However, abolitionists condemned this method and claimed it was inhumane and similar to burning someone on a stake.
In an 1898 op-ed
in The New York Times
, prominent physician Austin Flint
called for the abolition of the death penalty and suggested more criminology
-based methods should be used to reduce crime. Anti-death penalty activism of this period was largely state and locally based. An organization called the Anti-Death Penalty League was established Massachusetts in 1897. However, national leagues, such as the Anti-capital Punishment Society of America and the Committee on Capital Punishment of the National Committee on Prisons, developed shortly after.
Many judges, prosecutors, and police opposed the abolition of capital punishment. They believed capital punishment held a strong deterrent capacity and that abolishment would result in more violence, chaos, and lynching. Despite opposition from these authorities, ten states banned execution through legislation by the beginning of World War I and numerous others came close. However, many of these victories were reversed and the movement once again died out due to World War I and the economic problems which followed.
The American Civil Liberties Union
, however, developed in 1925 and proved influential over its 47 year life span. The group focused on educating the public about the moral and pragmatic trouble of the death penalty. They also organized campaigns for legislative abolition and developed a research team which looked into empirical evidence surrounding issues such as death penalty deterrence and racial discrimination within the capital punishment process. Although the organization had little success when it came to abolition, they gathered a multitude of members and financial support for their cause. Many of their members and presidents were well-known prison wardens, attorneys, and academic scholars. These influential people wrote articles and pamphlets that were given out across the nation. They also gave speeches. Along with other social movements of the time, however, the group lost momentum and attention due to the Great Depression
and World War II
.
-based Citizens Against Legalized Murder, the Ohio
Committee to Abolish Capital Punishment, the New Jersey
Council to Abolish Capital Punishment, California’s People Against Capital Punishment, the New York Committee to Abolish Capital Punishment, the Oregon
Council to Abolish the Death Penalty, and the national Committee to Abolish the Federal Death Penalty. In addition to growing organizations, the movement also profited from growing European abolishment of the death penalty and from the controversial executions of Barbara Graham
and Caryl Chessman
.
Success mounted in the late 1950s as Alaska
, Hawaii
, and Delaware
abolished capital punishment. Oregon and Iowa
followed their leads in the 1960s. Many other states added laws that restricted the use of the death penalty except in cases of extreme serious offenses.
Abolitionists began to strongly challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty in the 1960s. Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union
and form the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund launched a major campaign challenging the death penalty’s constitutionality and insisted a moratorium for all executions while it was in process. The United States executed zero people from 1968 to 1976.
The Anti-Death Penalty’s biggest victory of this time period was the Supreme Court Case, Furman v. Georgia
, of 1972. The Supreme Court
found the current state of the death penalty unconstitutional due to its “arbitrary and discriminatory manner” of application. The court, however, left states with the option to revamp their laws and make them more constitutional. Twenty eight states did just that and the court eventually allowed the death penalty again through a series of cases in 1976.
USA, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
. The works of these organizations have brought about various restrictions on the use of capital punishment. Juveniles and the mentally ill or retarded can no longer be executed. In addition, the Supreme Court has made it more difficult to discriminate within the capital punishment process. Some criticize anti-death penalty sentiment as representing an interest group rather than a social movement because it is not as massive as other movements we see today such as the civil rights movement, women’s rights movement, and the pro-choice or pro-life movements. Leadership and membership among these groups is different than it is among the anti-death penalty movement. Rather than possessing leaders and members who are possible beneficiaries of the movement’s success, the anti-death penalty movement is composed of “moral entrepreneurs” who speak up for those who are under threat of being executed. Membership is not as strong as those of mass movements because it is often composed of “paper membership,” which means members are with a group that represents other issues as well or members are involved in multiple other issue-oriented projects. In addition, dedicated leaders and members are hard to find because these positions require long hours and little pay. The tactics of the movement also differ from those of mass movements. Demonstrations and radical flanks within the movement are rare and focus is more often put into lobbying for legislation or education the public on the flaws of the capital punishment system. Although the anti-death penalty movement may be looked at as an interest group, the movement is also too morally motivated and centered around such a distinct social issue to be ignored as a social movement.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
in the United States existed as early as the colonial period. Opposition to the death penalty peaked in 1966 , rising to 47% opposition, higher than those who supported it (42%), the rest (11%) had 'no opinion'. The death penalty increased in popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s, peaking in 1994 at 80%; since then, the anti-death penalty movement has strengthened again and the most recent Gallup poll in 2011 shows that 35% of Americans oppose the death penalty, an increase of over 80% over the last 17 years.
Colonial period
Abolitionists gathered support for their claims from writings by European EnlightenmentAge of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
philosophers such as Montesquieu, Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
(who became convinced the death penalty was cruel and unnecessary ), and Bentham
Bentham
-People:* Billy Bentham, English rugby league footballer* Charles Bentham, English shipwright in Dutch service* Craig Bentham , English footballer* Ethel Bentham , Irish doctor, politician and suffragette...
. In addition to various philosophers, many members of Quakers, Mennonites and other peace churches
Peace churches
Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches: Church of the Brethren, Mennonites including the Amish, and Religious Society of Friends and has...
opposed the death penalty as well. Perhaps the most influential essay for the anti-death penalty movement was Cesare Beccaria's 1767 essay, On Crimes and Punishment. Beccaria’s strongly opposed the state’s right to take lives and criticized the death penalty as having little deterrent effect. After the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, influential and well-known Americans, such as Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
, and Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
made efforts to reform or abolish the death penalty in the United States. All three joined the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, which opposed capital punishment. Following colonial times, the anti-death penalty movement has risen and fallen throughout history. In Against Capital Punishment: Anti- Death Penalty Movement in America, Herbert H. Haines describes the presence of the anti-death penalty movement as existing in four different eras.
First abolitionist era, mid to late 19th century
The anti-death penalty movement began to pick up pace in the 1830s and many Americans called for abolition of the death penalty. Anti-death penalty sentiment rose as a result of the Jacksonian era, which condemned gallows and advocated for better treatment of orphans, criminals, poor people, and the mentally ill. In addition, this era also produced various enlightened individuals who were believed to possess the capacity to reform deviants.Although some called for complete abolition of the death penalty, the elimination of public hangings was the main focus. Initially, abolitionists opposed public hangings because they threatened public order, caused sympathy for the condemned, and were bad for the community to watch. However, after multiple states restricted executions to prisons or prison yards, the anti-death penalty movement could no longer capitalize on the horrible details of execution.
The anti-death penalty gained some success by the end of the 1850s as Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
passed abolition bills. Abolitionists also had some success in prohibiting laws that placed mandatory death sentences of convicted murderers. However, some of these restrictions were overturned and the movement was declining. Conflict between the North and the South in the run-up to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
took attention away from the movement.
In addition, the anti-gallow groups who were responsible for lobbying for abolition legislation were weak. The groups lacked strong leadership, because most members were involved in advocating for other issues as well, such as slavery abolishment and prison reform. Members of anti-gallow groups did not have enough time, energy, or resources to make any substantial steps towards abolition. Thus, the movement declined and remained latent until after the post-Civil War period.
Second abolitionist era, late 19th and early 20th centuries
The anti-death penalty gained momentum again at the end of the 1800s. PopulistPopulism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
and progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
reforms contributed to the reawakened anti-capital punishment sentiment. In addition, a “socially conscious” form of Christianity and the growing support of “scientific” corrections contributed to the movement’s success. New York introduced the electric chair in 1890. This method was supposed to be more humane and appease death penalty opponents. However, abolitionists condemned this method and claimed it was inhumane and similar to burning someone on a stake.
In an 1898 op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, prominent physician Austin Flint
Austin Flint
Austin Flint was an American physician, born at Petersham, Massachusetts He was educated at Amherst and Harvard and graduated at the latter in 1833. After practicing at Boston and Northampton, he moved to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1836...
called for the abolition of the death penalty and suggested more criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
-based methods should be used to reduce crime. Anti-death penalty activism of this period was largely state and locally based. An organization called the Anti-Death Penalty League was established Massachusetts in 1897. However, national leagues, such as the Anti-capital Punishment Society of America and the Committee on Capital Punishment of the National Committee on Prisons, developed shortly after.
Many judges, prosecutors, and police opposed the abolition of capital punishment. They believed capital punishment held a strong deterrent capacity and that abolishment would result in more violence, chaos, and lynching. Despite opposition from these authorities, ten states banned execution through legislation by the beginning of World War I and numerous others came close. However, many of these victories were reversed and the movement once again died out due to World War I and the economic problems which followed.
The American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, however, developed in 1925 and proved influential over its 47 year life span. The group focused on educating the public about the moral and pragmatic trouble of the death penalty. They also organized campaigns for legislative abolition and developed a research team which looked into empirical evidence surrounding issues such as death penalty deterrence and racial discrimination within the capital punishment process. Although the organization had little success when it came to abolition, they gathered a multitude of members and financial support for their cause. Many of their members and presidents were well-known prison wardens, attorneys, and academic scholars. These influential people wrote articles and pamphlets that were given out across the nation. They also gave speeches. Along with other social movements of the time, however, the group lost momentum and attention due to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Third abolitionist era, mid 20th century
The movement in 1950s and 1960s shifted focus from legislation to the courts. Although public opinion remained in favor of execution (aside from during the mid 1960s when pro and anti opinions were roughly equal), judges and jurors executed less people than they did in the 1930s. The decline in executions gave strength to various new anti-capital punishment organizations. Among these groups were: a CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based Citizens Against Legalized Murder, the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Committee to Abolish Capital Punishment, the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Council to Abolish Capital Punishment, California’s People Against Capital Punishment, the New York Committee to Abolish Capital Punishment, the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
Council to Abolish the Death Penalty, and the national Committee to Abolish the Federal Death Penalty. In addition to growing organizations, the movement also profited from growing European abolishment of the death penalty and from the controversial executions of Barbara Graham
Barbara Graham
Barbara Graham was an American criminal and convicted murderess. She was executed in the gas chamber on the same day as two convicted accomplices, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins. Nicknamed "Bloody Babs" by the press, Graham was the third woman in California to die by gas.-Early life:Graham was born...
and Caryl Chessman
Caryl Chessman
Caryl Whittier Chessman was a convicted robber and rapist who gained fame as a death row inmate in California. Chessman's case attracted worldwide attention, and as a result he became a cause célèbre for the movement to ban capital punishment.-Crime and conviction:Born in St...
.
Success mounted in the late 1950s as Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
abolished capital punishment. Oregon and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
followed their leads in the 1960s. Many other states added laws that restricted the use of the death penalty except in cases of extreme serious offenses.
Abolitionists began to strongly challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty in the 1960s. Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
and form the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund launched a major campaign challenging the death penalty’s constitutionality and insisted a moratorium for all executions while it was in process. The United States executed zero people from 1968 to 1976.
The Anti-Death Penalty’s biggest victory of this time period was the Supreme Court Case, Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
, of 1972. The Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
found the current state of the death penalty unconstitutional due to its “arbitrary and discriminatory manner” of application. The court, however, left states with the option to revamp their laws and make them more constitutional. Twenty eight states did just that and the court eventually allowed the death penalty again through a series of cases in 1976.
Contemporary anti-death penalty movement
The anti-death penalty movement slowly rose again after a brief moment of rest due to the reinstatement of capital punishment in many states. This time, however, the movement sprung in the form of a wide range or organizations rather than in the form of litigation and lawyers. Some of the most influential organizations who continue to work against capital punishment today include Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
USA, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is a large organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty in the United States...
. The works of these organizations have brought about various restrictions on the use of capital punishment. Juveniles and the mentally ill or retarded can no longer be executed. In addition, the Supreme Court has made it more difficult to discriminate within the capital punishment process. Some criticize anti-death penalty sentiment as representing an interest group rather than a social movement because it is not as massive as other movements we see today such as the civil rights movement, women’s rights movement, and the pro-choice or pro-life movements. Leadership and membership among these groups is different than it is among the anti-death penalty movement. Rather than possessing leaders and members who are possible beneficiaries of the movement’s success, the anti-death penalty movement is composed of “moral entrepreneurs” who speak up for those who are under threat of being executed. Membership is not as strong as those of mass movements because it is often composed of “paper membership,” which means members are with a group that represents other issues as well or members are involved in multiple other issue-oriented projects. In addition, dedicated leaders and members are hard to find because these positions require long hours and little pay. The tactics of the movement also differ from those of mass movements. Demonstrations and radical flanks within the movement are rare and focus is more often put into lobbying for legislation or education the public on the flaws of the capital punishment system. Although the anti-death penalty movement may be looked at as an interest group, the movement is also too morally motivated and centered around such a distinct social issue to be ignored as a social movement.