...Life without parole is the harshest punishment given to juvenile delinquents. Since minors are still developing, it is argued that life without parole is only used as punishment for extenuating circumstances such as felony homicide. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to give life without parole to juveniles that commit “non-homicide” crimes (Kaiser 2012). In a recent Supreme Court ruling, a 5-4 vote opposed the mandatory sentencing of life without parole for children ages 18 and under (Savage 2012). This means that state laws need to take age and the nature of the crime into consideration before issuing a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Because of the harsh permanent nature of this punishment, other alternative sentences should be considered when handling juvenile cases. Life without parole should only be used as a last resort based on the individual case. Criminal sentencing is based on the “moral wrong committed” and the debt owed to society (Kaiser 2012). The basis of the law is to gain retribution for the actions, deter future crimes and to rehabilitate existing inmates (Kaiser 2012). Ideally the thought of life without the possibility of parole should be enough to deter anyone from doing a heinous crime. However, many of the prison cells are occupied by inmates with no possibility of parole. This penalty is setting a moral example by making sure that the person is unable to commit the offense again and to decrease the likelihood of...
Words: 1066 - Pages: 5
...the poster needs to be easy to understand. Possible Reasons the Audience May Reject Our Idea There are many reasons that the audience may reject our ideas. The death penalty is quite controversial, and it seems as many people supporting the death penalty, twice as many oppose it. Reasons the audience may reject abolishing the death penalty are emotion, lack of facts, and peer pressure. Most often people favor the death penalty over life in prison as an emotional reaction. People are adamant about what they have experienced, seen or heard on television or newspapers and make choices based on their emotional decision. The issue that our team sought to resolve was the incidents of innocent lives lost when those wrongfully convicted were sentenced to death. As a team we believe that the only way to solve this issue is to abolish the death penalty. Anticipated Audience Objections The death penalty gives closure to the families of the victim's. The family members of the victims will never get over the tragic loss of their loved ones but the death penalty may provide some closure for these families. If the criminal is allowed to survive by serving life in prison the families will be reminded daily that the criminal survived although their loved one did not. The...
Words: 1032 - Pages: 5
...country has dropped the death penalty leaving eighteen countries that still practice it. In 2014, there were 2,466 inmates sentenced to death. Out of those 2,466 inmates, 509 of them were in Egypt and 659 were in Nigeria (Spooner, 1). In Nigeria, the death penalty is imposed for murder and armed robbery (Spooner, 1). However, in 2014, mutiny and conspiracy to mutiny was added. Article 6 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes.” International Human Rights Standards states that, “most serious crimes” has been limited to crimes involving intentional killing (Spooner, 1). The President of Ghana, John Mahama, commuted 21 death sentences to life imprisonment in commemoration of Ghana’s 54th Republic Day Anniversary. Ghana and the Republic of Congo have considered changes to the death penalty and abolishment, but neither have acted on these changes. In 2014, there were no executions carried out even though there were 1,484 inmates on death row. In Kenya, they no longer carry out executions, but they do still sentence inmates to death. In Sierra Leone, there has not been an execution since 1998. Although the death penalty is retained for acts such as treason and aggravated robbery, it is...
Words: 423 - Pages: 2
...Death Penalty Abolishment Jason Martin CJA/394 August 24, 2015 B. Hale Death Penalty Abolishment The issue of the death penalty and its Constitutionality has been an area of debate in the United States for years. When looking at it from a global standpoint it becomes even more controversial, many other countries consider the practice to be barbarian. A US Supreme Court ruling on the subject, declaring it unconstitutional has led to states being required to change their existing laws in order to eliminate it. The main problem seems to be that the population in each state may have a different take on whether it is good or bad for society. The death penalty remains the definitive, unalterable rejection of human rights. By working in the direction of the abolition of the death penalty on a global level, organizations goals to terminate the series of violence generated thru a method riddled with financial and ethnic prejudice and stained by hu20man inaccuracy. The death penalty places innocent people at risk. ("The Facts: 13 Reasons To Oppose The Death Penalty", 2015). Ever since the restoration of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, 138 not guilty males and females have been free from death row, containing individuals who came in moments of execution. In Missouri, Texas and Virginia inquiries have been started to decide if those places executed guiltless males. The unlawful killing of a guiltless individual is a wrong that can under no circumstances be mended...
Words: 1842 - Pages: 8
...Abolishing Mandatory Minimum Sentences Mandatory minimum sentences for a variety of crimes became popular in the 1980s and have progressed since then. Approaches to the idea have differed, but the bottom line has remained the same: punish the criminals who commit certain crimes and ensure they remain in prison for a specified amount of time. Though these laws are logical, mandatory minimum sentencing, in all its forms, does not effectively reduce crime. Statement of Problem: Mandatory minimum sentencing is an obsolete and ineffective crime control policy that needs to be replaced. There are several reasons that these laws need to be repealed. The first of these is that the discretion is taken away from the judge and given to the prosecutor....
Words: 1743 - Pages: 7
...CORE SELF EVALUATION DEVELOPED BY JUDGE, EREZ, BONO, & THORESON (2003) Below are several statements with which you may agree or disagree. Using the response scale below, indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each statement. Write your level of agreement in the left-hand column (e.g., write one number, from 1-5, in the left hand column). You will use the right hand column to score once you have completed the survey. Rating Scale |1 |Strongly disagree | |2 |Disagree | |3 |Neutral | |4 |Agree | |5 |Strongly agree | |Your Response |Item No. |Question |Scoring | |______ |1 |I am confident I get the success I deserve |______ | |______ |2 |Sometimes I feel depressed |______ | |______ |3 |When I try, I generally succeed |______ | |______ |4 |Sometimes when I fail, I feel worthless |______ | |______ |5 |I complete tasks successfully ...
Words: 1264 - Pages: 6
...Some historians refer to Japan’s social, economic, and political advancements during the late 19th century and early 20th century as the “Meiji Miracle.” During the 1860’s the Tokugawa shogunate was at its weakest point and it would soon fall after the shotgun abdicated his power. In 1868, the Meiji regime was established under Mutsuhito in Edo, or modern Tokyo. Previously during the Edo rule; the weak Tokugawa rulers were forced into signing unequal treaties with various Western powers. The Meiji emperor and his advisors soon realized that Japan must change and initiate reforms in order to prevent the Western powers from dominating Japan. The Meiji rulers would soon embrace western technologies, industries, and lifestyles to initiate modernization policies that would forever alter Japanese politics, society, and economics. The Meiji would begin their political reform by stripping the daimyo of titles to the land in 1871. To maintain peace among the daimyo the Meiji rulers made the former daimyo regional governors over their prefectures. By doing this, the Meiji rulers were able to successfully remove the daimyo from holding full possession of the land without major resistance. The Meiji government would continue to modernize Japanese politics by establishing a parliament and constitution based on the Western government. The use of a constitution sparked a debate on among the officers and intellectuals of which form of parliament was more beneficial. The politicians favored...
Words: 1359 - Pages: 6
...Marissa Di Leonardo Assignment #1 Human rights are the ethical values that define firm principles of human conduct, and are often protected as legal rights of the law. Nevertheless a country’s nation, religion, location, language, ethnic origin, or any additional positions, are valid together and at any time they require empathy and impose an obligation on a country to respect the human rights of others. Five rights which have been abused in the U.S and five rights in which have been mistreated in the country of Belgium are as follows. In Belgium the right to leave any country has been neglected. In April 2012, the Belgian authorities, as well as of France, Switzerland, the UK, Germany and Austria banned approximately 120 representatives of NGOs and Pro-Palestinian activists from leaving the country to partake in the sober opening ceremony of a new International School in Bethlehem. This right is inscribed as a main human right, which is intent is to confirm that people are allowed to move freely, including outside of the country that they are in and without unfounded difficulties. States are also permitted to place restrictions on the right to leave. Belgium has also experienced abuse in the right of discrimination on the ground of age, according to the Belgian Center for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, Belgium has the highest rate of age discrimination in employment among the other European countries. It has banned candidates over forty-five years of age...
Words: 1980 - Pages: 8
...Life without Parole v. Capital Punishment in California Capital punishment is the focus of much controversy lately amongst Californians. In November, Proposition 43 gave California the option to eliminate capital punishment and convert current sentences to life without the possibility of parole. The vote against it won with only 53% of the vote. Over half the states in America favor the death penalty and apply it, while at least a dozen states have chosen not to implement it. As a resident of California, I believe that with our current fiscal crisis, it would be wise to convert current death penalty sentences to life without parole in an effort to save taxpayers millions of dollars. “Legal executions in California were authorized under the Criminal Practices Act of 1851” (History of capital punishment in California, 2010). Since that date, over 500 people have been executed by the state. California has gone through the transition from hangings, to the gas chamber, to lethal injection. In 2006, executions were put to a halt due to claims that the 3 combination lethal injection was cruel and unusual punishment. There are currently over 700 inmates, both men and women, who are waiting to be put to death. The death penalty system that we currently have in place is inactive. However, it is still costing taxpayers their money, and a large amount of it at that. California taxpayers, a considerable amount more per death row inmates than we do general population inmates. If...
Words: 2582 - Pages: 11
...would be considered threatening behavior. It is a poor idea to allow a Greek organization to loosely affiliate with its respective college. Instead, constant communication and meetings should take place with fraternity and sorority leaders to ensure their behavior is kept in check. Also, by making sure fraternities and sororities meet with members of the school’s administration weekly, a relationship can be made with other fraternities as well as the school. On top of educating the public and streamlining communication, Greek organizations should be allowed to practice safe hazing. As negative as this may seem, safe hazing practices can promote new member bonds, healthier levels of physicality, as well as increased grade point averages. Mandatory lifting, studying hours, and group tasks that require all members to participate are all considered methods of hazing. However, hazing also includes embarrassing and humiliating techniques that serve no real purpose other...
Words: 1325 - Pages: 6
...Liberal Feminism and Radical Feminism The goal of feminism as both a social movement and political movement is to make women and men equal not only culturally, but socially and legally. Even though there are various types of feminism that focus on different goals and issues, the ultimate end to feminism is abolishing gender inequality that has negative effects on women in our society. The issues and goals that a feminist may have are dependent on the social organization or the type of economic structure that is present. However, an ultimate end (a goal, achievement and/or accomplishment) would have to be social equality between men and women. This would mean the elimination of bias and discrimination towards women and the elimination of all forms of established hierarchy, whether it’s mandatory or enforced. The two types of feminist theories I have chose to compare are liberal feminism and radical feminism. Even though they seem to aim for the same objectives, in the following paragraphs, I will compare and prove that they are very different in the sense that liberal feminism is form of reform feminism and radical feminism is a form of resistance feminism. They are both strategically different, and they have different ideas and beliefs that are almost the opposite of each other, which revolve around the reasons of why gender inequality exists, why women are oppressed, and why gender inequality won’t be easily abolished. The differences between radical and liberal feminism...
Words: 1504 - Pages: 7
...The Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”. Since the unification and independence of our nation and according to our Founding Fathers, America is the land of opportunity. It was the only place that was able to fulfill hopes and dreams of equality and success. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to define, compliment, and criticize the American Dream throughout the 1920s. As Fitzgerald portrays in the novel, the war changed the mindset of the nation and people became more interested in wealth and social class; people gained faith in the pursuit of pleasure rather than the “pursuit...
Words: 1656 - Pages: 7
...Television has extended its own self to be familiar with many technologies, spreading its technological alliances to become even more part of our lives. When the shift in technology from analogue to digital became apparent, a decoder was made for the masses to receive television that previously had to be paid for in subscription. The digital box extends the amount of channels sent on one signal, increasing the media coverage and which in turn “creates extensions of the human body and senses” according to McLuhan, every extension has an amputation. The digital box is an over extension of the television, it has become part of television to extent senses and body for the masses. This has established a wider connection, forming a larger global tribe and opening up more space for information from the media to the senses. The demand for constant supply of content has distorted our global view, everything must be simultaneous and we must be involved in everything. Everything we must be involved in is shown on digital television. The chances to connect with more people than before is immense, their visions and their ideas are now at the forefront of our technology. In theory this should extent the broadcasting systems to reach more people and more people, creating a clearer view of the world. As McLuhan has put it “the electronic age’ has sealed ‘the entire human family into a single global tribe.” This should reach out as a united front connecting every singular person through the...
Words: 2035 - Pages: 9
...throughout the years; this essay will focus primarily on the workings of John Locke and Karl Marx. Both being raised in a different time, thus different upbringings have resulted in a difference in their train of thought and philosophical approaches on life. Karl Marx has been forced...
Words: 1999 - Pages: 8
...Analyze Marshall’s conceptualization of citizenship and its relevance to social planning The focus of this paper is to critically examine the content of contemporary understandings of Marshall `s conceptualization of citizenship and its relevance to social policy. The main agenda of the paper is to realize a theoretically informed definition of citizenship advanced by Marshall and concentrate mainly on the rights and obligations of citizenship; but also address the increasingly multi-tiered nature of the framing of membership, both in national and supra-national contexts, as well as the emergence of new citizenship claims and claims making. Lake (1994) holds that citizenship is defined by the sociologist guru Marshall as a “status, given to all full members of a community.” The status establishes the rights and duties of the individual in the society to achieve equality for all citizens. Marshall`s contribution shaped the policy in politics, health, education and rights of women in society. According to Marshall (1950) there are three elements of citizenship rights namely civil, political and social which will be analyzed in this essay and their relevance to social planning will be evaluated. Marshall spoke of the development of civil, political, and social citizenship as an evolutionary sequence. The rights embodied in the first pointed to those of the second, and the second to the third. Each, in succession, was secured over the three centuries following the 1688 Revolution...
Words: 1529 - Pages: 7