Capital Punishment in AmericaThe concept of “life for life” is “as old as civilization itself” (McCiellan 9). Capital punishment, the taking of a criminal's life, has been used in response to three distinct categories of offenses. The three categories are: crimes against the person; crimes against property and crimes that endanger the security of the nation (Horwitz 13). Capital punishment is still used today in the United States, but has been abolished by many countries (II 536). Countries that still have the death penalty on their books rarely use it. The first writings on the subject date back to 2000 BC, but it is clear that capital punishment has existed more or less since the birth of humanity (Szumski 25). Throughout history, it has been exercised in almost every civilization as a punishment for serious crimes, but sometimes also for thrill and excitement. The Romans put slaves and prisoners in the Colosseum as food for the lions while spectators enjoyed the spectacle (Horwitz 13). In the early colonial states, the death penalty was used for a large number of crimes, just as it was in England, the ruler of that country's states. period (II536). In England in the 18th century there were around 220 crimes punishable by death. Some of these would today be considered misdemeanors and misdemeanors (e.g., shooting a rabbit, stealing a pocket handkerchief, and cutting down a cherry tree) (Horwitz 13). The majority of these crimes involved property. However, transportation became an alternative to execution in the 17th century. Many of these criminals were shipped to the United States(28). At the beginning of our Constitution, the only evidence that the death penalty existed were two amendments to the Bill of Rights (Landau11). These amendments concern the protection and rights of the accused. The Fifth Amendment prohibits the state from depriving an individual of life without due process of law. The Eighth Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual” punishment. The Supreme Court has still not determined what this expression means. In one case, in the 1890s, the question was whether capital punishment violated the Eighth Amendment. The court relied on the fact that “a definition of cruel and unusual punishment must reflect the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society” (14). Surveys from that time show that a majority of the population was in favor of the death penalty. In the Middle Ages, capital punishment was also applied to animals.