CAPITAL CRIME

One for the punishment of which death is inflicted, which punishment is called capital punishment. 2. The subject of capital punishment has occupied the attention of enlightened men for a long time, particularly since the middle of the last century; and none deserves to be more carefully investigated. The right of punishing its members by society cannot be denied; but how far this right extends, by the laws of nature or of God, has been much disputed by theoretical writers, although it cannot be denied, that most nations, ancient and modern, have deemed capital punishment to be within the scope of the legitimate powers of government. Beccaria contends with zeal that the punishment of death ought not to be inflicted in times of peace, nor at other times, except in cases where the laws can be maintained in no other way.