Title Highlight: Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment

Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment
1 volume: Bibliography, Illustrations, Timeline, Index

Beginning with the code of Hammurabi in the seventeenth century B.C., this book examines both the history and practice of capital punishment through the centuries. Stories of the executions of famous murderers are told, along with the societal and political debates surrounding the death penalty. Most articles have suggestions for further reading at the end. There is an interesting timeline at the end of the book highlighting both famous executions and the institution of various laws regarding the use of capital punishment including the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s 1641 laws that prescribed the death penalty for witches (think Salem witch trials) and blasphemy. The timeline also records 1790 as the date when Britain banned burning at the stake as a cruel and unusual punishment and substituted hanging as more humane. Two years later in 1792 the French came up with what was seen as an improvement on hanging, the guillotine. If nothing else, the book demonstrates that capital punishment has been around for a very long time and has undergone many changes in technique.