Give a history of the Catholic church on the death penalty and note Research Paper

Give a history of the Catholic church on the death penalty and note how it has changed over time - Research Paper Example What amount or kind of punishment is publicly justifiable and can make it principle and standard is a question rising in the minds of many people. It is only principle that can definitely assign both the quantity and quality of a just penalty. A crime deserves punishment but the punishment given depends on the gravity of the crime. Many people have mixed reviews on death penalty and most of them are against this kind of punishment. Death penalty abolishment has it s roots in the liberal utilitarian government and humanistic ideas spawned by the enlightenment in Europe at the end of eighteenth century. Utilitarian believed that punishment should not be worse than crime and hence was against death penalty. Same is the case with Catholic Church as Bible preached killing as a sin. Jesus was against death penalty and so was Pope John Paul. U.S. Catholic bishops were against death penalty and reminded the fellow Christians to remember the teaching of Christ and condemn death penalty. The C oncept of Death Penalty Death penalty is of ancient origin. Death penalty otherwise known as capital punishment has its meaning derived from Latin word â€Å"head punishment†. Capital punishment is a procedure where in beheading is done to the criminal as a method of execution. The death penalty has its origin in England and was transported to American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. The death penalty has existed in American soil for almost four centuries and has given way to 20,000 executions. The capital crime in those days were quiet long and the proportion of offenders actually executed were uncertain.Untill the end of 18th century there was no opposition to death penalty in America. The death penalty is the oldest form of punishment known to human kind. Death penalty existed even before criminal law was formulated and when aristocratic rule existed. Death penalty was a common practice in England during the time of writing constitution. According to death pen alty the criminal is killed by being shot, hung or beheading. However most of the states in America preferred to execute the criminals by hanging. According to (Dunehew)â€Å"In 1972, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down every state death penalty statute in the nation, it was declared to be â€Å"cruel and unusual punishment† and a violation of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution†. Death penalty gives importance to human life and punishes people who take life of others. Murdering someone is against the law of God and it can be compensated only by giving hard punishment to the guilty. History of Death Penalty During seventeenth and eighteenth century, the English colonist implemented death penalty as punishment for various crimes which might look shocking today. It was given for crimes like treason, rape, burglary, manslaughter, robbery, counterfeiting, theft and arson. All these became capital crime in American colonies as well. The colonial American considered theft as same as murder and all were counted in the same hierarchy and given capital punishment. In that century, life was cheap and times were rude. The people of seventeenth century were greatly influenced by political and religious views and did not think independently. Colonial Americans were not blindly following death penalty but understood the reason and purpose it served. The North American colonial law was variant from English law as it was more lenient than the latter. In England, murder and rape was given