From Hanging to Nitrogen Hypoxia: The Evolution of Execution and the Case for American Abolition

Authors

• Anna Kuhlman, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law

Abstract

The death penalty has been a dark fixture in societal punishment for most of human history. It has allowed for grisly, violent executions of people found guilty of misconduct relative to the culture they live in. “The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century BCE in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes.” The first death sentence on record was a member of nobility in 16th-century BCE Egypt, where the wrongdoer was accused of magic and ordered to commit suicide. In the seventh century B.C.E., the Draconian Code of Athens, named after Athenian lawmaker Draco, provided every

crime committed was punishable by death. “In 399 B.C.E., the outspoken Greek philosopher Socrates was tried and convicted of heresy and corruption of youth; and, refusing to renounce his work, he was ordered to die by drinking poison.” In 1500, under English law, there were 8 crimes punishable by death; by 1688, the list of capital crimes had grown to almost 50.

As the world has continued its path to development, countries have begun questioning the actual achieved purpose of the death penalty, and a global wave of abolition has been growing. Today, justifications for the death penalty that once made sense appear hollow arguments that attempt to hold onto a rapidly disappearing historical mode of punishment. As societies make technological, economic, and political strides, it seems anti-progressive to continue to permit the State to be an executioner of its own people. Accordingly, this article suggests it is high time for the United States to join the abolitionist movement and make capital punishment a thing of the past.

In Part II, this article will outline modern capital punishment around the world. Part III details methods of punishment that have been used in the United States and most parts of the world. Part IV argues for total American abolition of the death penalty; specifically, that capital offenses should instead be punished with life without parole. Finally, Part V concludes by proposing that if the death penalty must be retained, the only method available should be the firing squad.

Recommended Citation

Anna Kuhlman, Comment, From Hanging to Nitrogen Hypoxia: The Evolution of Execution and the Case for American Abolition, ILRA Student Forum (2025)