The documented history of capital punishment on American soil dates back more than 400 years. The first execution of an Englishman, in what is now the United States, was that of Captain George Kendall, which took place in the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1608. The colony's blacksmith at the time, James Reed, was sentenced to death for treason . But he managed to save himself by pointing the finger at Captain Kendall. He claimed that Captain Kendall was a dangerous conspirator. Kendall was tried and sentenced to death. And he was shot. There were a wide range of capital offensives in colonial America. And the laws varied from colony to colony. Most were based on Britain's Bloody Codes, which codified more than 200 offenses as capital crimes, including lower-level crimes, such as petty theft, felling trees in an orchid, and disturbing a fish pond. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Capital laws in America included murder, rape, and robbery, along with other crimes related to religion or morality, such as witchcraft, blasphemy, working on the Sabbath, adultery, and worshiping false idols. Most people executed in colonial America, however, were executed for murder, witchcraft, and piracy. 40% of those executed were executed for murder, 25% for witchcraft, and 15% of executions in colonial America were for pirates. Early death penalty laws were often accompanied by a scriptural passage justifying the laws. This is because executions in colonial America were strongly linked to religion. Given the strong ties to religion, the first executions were public, often by hanging from the gallows. This provided the clergy with a larger audience to preach to and was intended to be a deterrent to other potential offenders. The execution was a ritual lasting several hours, involving a public procession to the gallows, accompanied by sermons, singing of hymns and the last words of the sentence. The last words should have been the defendant's last opportunity to declare renewed faith and ask for forgiveness. It was his opportunity to receive the Atonement before he died. Public executions in colonial America were generally solemn events and considered healthy and educational for children. The behavior of the spectators was that of a sober celebration. There were generally few executions in colonial America, because the newly founded country needed them. The vast majority of those executed were men. Only 35 for women. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Women were much more likely to be executed for witchcraft. And the greatest number of women executed in one year was 1692, the year of the Salem witch trials. Most people executed in colonial America were black. Part of this is because blacks were often considered outsiders. And the execution of strangers was less harmful to the community. Yet, it still offered the opportunity to discourage other offenders and for clergy to preach. The average age at the time of execution was 30 years old. But known executions in colonial America occurred as young as 83 and as young as 12. Although only about 2% of those executed were minors. The methods of execution in the United States also originated in Europe. The following short video will introduce you to some of the historical execution methods upon which executions were based in Colonial America. After centuries of brutal executions, the search for the most humane method of ending human life continues.