European settlers arrived in the new world and brought capital punishment. The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. The reason for his execution was said to be because he was a spy for Spain and had been hanged for treason. (History of the death penalty) After introducing capital punishment, many states took it upon themselves to start punishing people for all the types of crimes that the English had established and along the way also added crimes that they deemed worthy enough to be considered crimes. capital offenses. After the generalization and start of capital punishment, the abolitionist movement began. “In 1767, Cesare Beccaria wrote an essay “On Crimes and Punishments” which had a major impact around the world. In Beccaria's essay, he theorized that there was "no justification for the state to take a life." (History of the Death Penalty) There was no reason for any form of torture and no reason to take this form of action. He believed that the judicial system had to be changed first. The only way to punish them would be to ensure that we defend the social contract and that everyone respects it.