WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:63000 1 00:00:01.050 --> 00:00:04.410 The death penalty in the U.S. has been around since 1608, 2 00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:08.460 but it has long been debated under various presidential administrations. 3 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.330 The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, 4 00:00:12.420 --> 00:00:14.460 can be used for crimes involving murder. 5 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:17.640 Today many states allow the death penalty. 6 00:00:17.730 --> 00:00:20.760 24 states use it, 23 don't allow it, 7 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:24.270 and three have a current moratorium, or temporary hold, on it. 8 00:00:24.570 --> 00:00:25.950 Since 1976, 9 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:29.910 there have been 1,532 executions in total. 10 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:32.550 The main method used is lethal injection, 11 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:36.270 but other methods used in the past have been electrocution, hanging, 12 00:00:36.690 --> 00:00:38.520 death by firing squad and gassing. 13 00:00:39.570 --> 00:00:42.180 The death penalty in America was influenced by England. 14 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:46.500 The first person to be killed in the U.S. was Captain George Kendall in 1608, 15 00:00:46.650 --> 00:00:50.250 who was put to death by firing squad for serving as a Spanish spy. 16 00:00:50.760 --> 00:00:51.870 Since those early days, 17 00:00:51.930 --> 00:00:56.700 various high court rulings have placed limits on the death penalty. In 1972, 18 00:00:56.701 --> 00:01:00.510 the Supreme Court declared the death penalty a "cruel and unusual punishment" 19 00:01:00.540 --> 00:01:03.690 that violated the Eighth Amendment. For the next four years, 20 00:01:03.720 --> 00:01:07.320 no executions were carried out at the state or federal levels. 21 00:01:07.410 --> 00:01:10.620 But in 1976, the Supreme Court decided to allow it again, 22 00:01:10.740 --> 00:01:12.150 but with appellate review, 23 00:01:12.210 --> 00:01:15.360 meaning a higher court must review the decision of lower courts. 24 00:01:15.660 --> 00:01:18.600 The death penalty resumed the following year. In the 2000s, 25 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:23.190 Supreme Court rulings abolished the death penalty for young people and people 26 00:01:23.191 --> 00:01:24.690 with intellectual disabilities. 27 00:01:25.620 --> 00:01:29.100 While the majority of people executed since 1976 have been white, 28 00:01:29.160 --> 00:01:31.290 a disproportionate number have been black. 29 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:34.530 Black people make up about 13 percent of the population, 30 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:36.900 but 42 percent of people on death row. 31 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:41.430 The death penalty has also been criticized for putting innocent people on death 32 00:01:41.431 --> 00:01:44.670 row and for not serving as a deterrent to crime. 33 00:01:45.150 --> 00:01:46.710 The death penalty isn't cheap, either. 34 00:01:46.740 --> 00:01:50.880 Defending a person facing the death penalty costs on average over 35 00:01:50.881 --> 00:01:53.640 $600,000 in a federal trial, 36 00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:56.730 about eight times more than if the death penalty wasn't sought. 37 00:01:57.090 --> 00:02:00.480 This is because of longer trials and appeals when a person's life is on the 38 00:02:00.481 --> 00:02:02.100 line. For this reason, 39 00:02:02.130 --> 00:02:05.940 some prosecutors choose not to seek the death penalty.