Death Row Literature

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Death Row
Part 1
Death row is used to mean a place as well as a state. Nowadays, prisons have made it a point to create or have places that are solely for prisoners awaiting execution, and these are referred to as death row. As a state, death row means the aspect of awaiting execution. In every country, there are crimes that warrant the death sentence. There have been debates over the morality of the death sentence, but countries, including the United States, still have it as an option.
History or Narrative of Death Row
Death row is quite ancient, and dates to the 18th century B.C. It was part of the Code for King Hammurabi of Babylon. In this code, the death penalty was prescribed for 25 crimes excluding murder. However, some of the crimes for which the death penalty was prescribed currently have lighter punishments.
In the United States, public executions were used to administer the death sentence. But, in 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state to end public executions by moving its executions to correctional facilities (CNN Editorial Research, 2020). After this move, other states followed suit with some even abolishing the death penalty altogether. In 1972, there was a landmark ruling in the United States that led to the suspension of the death penalty. However, the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976 with Gary Gilmore being the first person to be executed after its reinstatement. Throughout the years to today, the United States has seen the introduction of lethal injection as an execution option, the end of execution by hanging, and the banning of the execution of mentally unstable or insane persons. However, the executions are still ongoing with 2,620 people on death row currently (CNN Editorial Research, 2020).
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