Stromme, Jan. “Noose Stock Photo.” Gettyimages.ca, 200533182-001, Getty Images, http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/photo/hangmans-noose-against-black-background-high-res-stock-photography/200533182-001

Capital punishment in Canada was the highest sentenced received until 1976. Capital punishment or the death penalty was received for murder, treason, and rape in 1865.  In 1961, murder was separated into capital and non-capital, the offence of capital murder was premeditated murder and murder of a police officer or other guard while on duty. All capital offences had the mandatory sentence of hanging.  The last executions occurred in 1962, the first man was Arthur Lucas who murdered an informer, the second man, Robert Turpin, murdered a police officer to avoid arrest because of these crimes they were hung at the Don Jail in Toronto.  In 1966, Capital punishment was limited to the killing of police officers and prison guards that are on duty. In 1976, Capital punishment was removed from the criminal code, and was replaced by 25 years in prison.  It was debated to reintroduce capital punishment in 1987 but it was ultimately shutdown. In 1998, Canadian military law became the same as Canadian civil law to remove the death penalty from the Canadian military law.

In the story “Two fishermen” by Morley Callaghan, there is a man name Thomas Delaney. Thomas is sentenced to death by hanging because he murdered Mathew Rhinehart who molested his wife.  If this crime were committed in Canada during the same time period, he would’ve been hung, since the time period is between 1900 and 1940 all murders would have the sentence of the death penalty. Thomas would’ve been hung or killed in some way because of his crime, even if it was in Canada.  Capital punishment is justifiable in this case because “Crimes of murder, treason, and rape carried the death penalty” (Munroe). Murdering someone is one of the worse things someone can do.

I believe that Thomas’ hanging was justified because “he had just killed old Mathew Rhinehart whom he had caught molesting his wife…”(Callaghan), but he was defending his wife from Mathew.  I also believe that he didn’t do the right thing and he should have dealt with the police instead of taking the matter into his own hands.  Thomas’ actions do make sense because he was in the heat of the moment.  He defended his wife from the man that was molesting her, If Thomas used the police for his problem then Mathew would be in jail.  Overall, murdering Mathew was the wrong thing to do and Thomas deserved to hang for it.

 

Munroe, Susan. “How Capital Punishment Was Abolished in Canada.” ThoughtCo. N.p., 06 Feb. 2017. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

Callaghan, Morley. Two Fishermen. N.p.: n.p., 1936. Print