1. Capital Punishment

2. Capital Punishment What we will cover…. History of Capital Punishment.
Methods of Capital Punishment.
Benefits and Drawbacks of methods of Capital Punishment.
Arguments for and against Capital Punishment.
Religious responses.
Non-religious responses.

3. Why is capital punishment a moral issue?

4. Capital Punishment as a Moral Issue
Capital punishment is one of the worlds most controversial issues.
The moral issues surrounding capital punishment create a lot of debates;
The right to life
Miscarriages of justice
Retribution
Harmful
Hypocrisy

5. Capital Punishment as a Moral Issue
Capital punishment is a moral issue because it raises the question of whether it is right for anyone to be put to death because everyone’s life is important or special and should not be taken away.
It also poses the dilemma of whether or not the state/executioner is just as bad as the criminal. It raises the question of whether or not it is right to be killed as a punishment for crime.
Also, there have been cases in the past where someone has been found to be innocent after them being executed. It also raises the question of whether or not we should be addressing the causes of crime, rather than just killing the criminal to deal with the crime rate.

6. History of Capital Punishment
For hundreds of years humans have executed other humans for crimes great and small.

7. History of Capital Punishment
There were many barbaric ways previously.
However Capital punishment still exists in some countries today…

8. Task Countries with the Death Penalty
Countries without the Death Penalty

9. United States of America
Cuba
Mexico
Turkey
Sudan
France
Zimbabwe
Australia
India
United Kingdom

10. Task Countries with the Death Penalty
Countries without the Death Penalty
United States of America
Cuba
Sudan
India
Zimbabwe
United Kingdom
France
Turkey
Australia
Mexico

11. History of Capital Punishment
In Britain capital punishment involved death by hanging.
Was carried out in public.
Was abolished with the Human Rights Act in
Capital punishment has been abolished in many parts of the world including most of Europe.
In other parts of the world it is used for serious crimes e.g murder.

12. History of Capital Punishment
In Britain
In Britain the abolition of Capital punishment came after a combination of Religious and Non-religious religious campaigners convinced the Government that this form of punishment was morally wrong.
Two cases in particular had a significant effect on the decision.

13. Timeline of Events
1700s
There were 200 crimes punishable by Capital Punishment.
Methods used included hanging, having your guts ripped out, being set on fire, boiled, strangled, beheaded or drowned.
Executions were carried out in public, people treated it as a day out

14. 1800s
1860 – the number of crimes you could be killed for were reduced to 4. These were murder, treason, piracy and arson. Hanging was the main method used.
1875 – The last public hanging took place. Public executions were then banned.

15. 1900s
1910- it was decided that children under 16 could not be hanged
1940- this was changed to under 18’s
1956- only 4 people were hanged in the UK
1964- the last ever hanging took place
1969- the death penalty for murder was abolished in UK
1998- the death penalty was completely abolished in the UK

16. Why did Britain abolish the
Death Penalty?
Up until 1998 people could still be hanged for treason, piracy and some military offences such as mutiny. However this had to be abolished in full because:
People had suffered a miscarriage of justice e.g. they were innocent (Timothy Evans) or circumstances that hadn’t been taken into account (Ruth Ellis).
It was not seen to be working as a deterrent – people still committed crimes
The government had to abolish it to remain part of the European Union.
Hanging was considered inhumane
The UK is predominantly Christian and the religion teaches forgiveness
Poor people were often condemned as they had no money to fight a legal battle
People who were mentally ill had been punished although they weren’t really responsible for their actions.

17. Methods of Capital Punishment
Methods most commonly used today (in blue):
Electric chair
Firing Squad
Lethal Injection
Gas chamber
Hanging
Boiling
Burning
Drowning
Stoning
Guts ripped out
Crucifixion
Beheading
Strangling

18. Methods of Capital Punishment
We are going to focus on six methods in particular.
Hanging
Firing Squad
Gas Chamber
Electrocution
Lethal Injection
Beheading

19. Hanging
Inmate is weighed the day before the hanging to allow length of rope to be worked out
Rehearsal done using a sandbag
Hands and legs strapped together
Blindfolded and noose placed round the neck with the knot behind the left ear
Trap door opens and prisoner falls through
Neck should be broken and death instant.
If the neck doesn’t break then the prisoner ends up being slowly strangled
Takes 15 seconds start to finish

20. Firing Squad
Inmate tied to a chair with straps across the waist and head in front of an oval shaped canvas wall
Chair is surrounded by sandbags to stop ricochets and to soak up blood
Black hood pulled over the prisoner’s head
Doctor locates heart and pins a white circle over it
20 ft away one of five shooters is given a blank bullet
The shooters fire through a hole in the canvas
Bullets tear the heart and lungs and produce unconsciousness
If they miss the inmate bleeds to death
Takes around 15 minutes start to finish

21. Gas Chamber Inmate strapped to a chair in an airtight chamber
Below the chair is sulphuric acid
Long stethoscope fixed to inmate’s chest so doctor knows if he is dead
Sodium cyanide crystals drop into a pail at the flick of a switch
Cyanide gas comes out when the acid and crystals mix
Inmates are told to take deep breaths to get it over with quickly
Most inmates hold their breath and struggle
Pain is like heart attack pain and it is over in a few minutes usually
Takes around 12 minutes start to finish

22. Electrocution
Inmate is shaved and strapped to a chair with belts across his chest, groin, legs and arms.
Metal skull cap is attached and moistened with salt water
Electrodes attached to the skull and legs
Inmate is blindfolded
volts go through the body for about 30 seconds
Doctor checks to see if it has worked. Continues until the prisoner is dead
Takes around minutes

23. Lethal Injection
The inmate is strapped to a table called a gurney and heart monitors are attached to the skin
Two needles are attached to the arms
One needle pumps in salt water to make sure the system works, the other contains lethal drugs
One drug knocks the prisoner out and second drug stops the heart
Death is by overdose
Takes around minutes

24. Beheading Several ways of doing it- sword, axe or guillotine
Still done in Saudi Arabia often in public
Success depends on the skill of the executioner
Takes second from start to finish
Possible that the executed person is conscious for 2-7 seconds after the beheading.
Guillotine- laid on a board
Board slides under the blade
Blade is released
Takes seconds start to finish

25. We will be watching the documentary: ‘How to Kill a Human.’
The documentary explores the different methods of capital punishment.
The main aim of the documentary is to find out if there is a humane way of carrying out capital punishment and if a prisoners death should in fact be humane…
What does Humane actually mean?
Humane means with compassion, showing sympathy…so finding a killing method that is sympathetic and less harmful to the prisoner!

26. Electrocution
Lethal Injection
Capital Punishment
Hanging
Gassing
Hypoxia

27. Should Prisoners Feel Pain?
Lethal Injection
Electrocution
Painful, controversial, torture.
Not carried out by doctors.
Described as ‘jet fuel through the body.’
If not done correctly can burn prisoner.
Causes a lot of pain.
Capital Punishment
Hanging
Gassing
Hangman's fracture can cause instant death.
Every country has different table.
Blocked breathing, eyes stinging, suffocation.
Prisoner must co-operate.
Hypoxia
Depriving the brain of oxygen.
Alternative to gassing.
Prisoner becomes delirious, almost drunk like state. Euphoric.

28. Method of Capital Punishment
Task
Method of Capital Punishment
Description of Method
Advantage
Disadvantage
Beheading
Hanging
Stoning
Electrocution
Gassing
Lethal Injection
Complete the table using notes from previous slides and documentary

29. Assessment Style Question
Explain two moral issues arising from the use of punishment. (4)
THINK!
What is a moral issue?
The question is asking you to give examples of why punishment is a moral issue.
Remember to structure your answer using the PEEL format.
Peer Mark Answers
Go over model answer as a class