Home > Crime and Punishment in America > Capital Punishment

Execution as a criminal punishment has been a part of U.S. history since the early colonial days of the seventeenth century. It is a story of changing methods based on what the public considers the most effective deterrent to future criminals, as well as what is considered sufficiently humane. There is also a long history of debate over the morality of taking human lives.

Capital punishments were harsh in colonial times. Though hanging was the most common method of execution, other methods—including burning alive, beheadings, and being crushed under a stack of stones—were also used. Whipping was the most...