Premium Essay

Death Penalty in Oklahoma

In:

Submitted By tracijameson
Words 1596
Pages 7
The Death Penalty in Oklahoma Many people are for the death penalty in Oklahoma, while very few are against it. I have never been a supporter of the death penalty. In my opinion, it is inhumane and against the convicted criminals Eighth Amendment right of the government forcing cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is meant to be a deterrent to keep people from committing criminal behavior. As you will see with the unusually high number of death row inmates in Oklahoma this is not true. Have our criminals become Guinea pigs for our Justice System to try different methods of execution? Our botched police investigations, and fight for political power have left many questions raised for the number of executed inmates in Oklahoma. We fail to realize all too often that these criminals have rights also. Criminals have a right to a fair trial and a right for the government not to force cruel and unusual punishment on them. The original death penalty law in Oklahoma called for executions to be carried out by electrocution. In 1972, the Supreme Court struck down all existing death penalty statutes. In Furman v. Georgia, the Court ruled that the death penalty as administered was cruel and unusual punishment. Oklahoma rewrote their death penalty statutes to remedy the Supreme Courts concern. The Oklahoma Legislature implemented the current death penalty law in 1977. The method to carry out the execution is by lethal injection. The last execution to be carried out by electrocution was in 1966. Oklahoma has executed a total of 191 men and 3 women between 1915 and 2014. The first execution by lethal injection in Oklahoma occurred on September 10, 1990. Our death row inmates are housed at McAlester Penitentiary also known as “The Wall.” Oklahoma is ranked number one in executions out of the 32 states that still enforce the death penalty law. Oklahoma’s population in

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Summary: The Saga Of The Richard Glossip Case

...The Saga of the Richard Glossip Case: Movement For Greater Transparency Or Abolition of the Death Penalty? Death row inmate Richard Glossip was lucky in that the State of Oklahoma wanted to hang him and they forgot to bring a rope to the hanging. This tragedy of errors raises the real problem isn’t the drugs used - it is the people administering them. “I still don’t know why we had potassium acetate,” according to Alex Gerszewski, an Oklahoma Department of Corrections (“D.O.C.”). We can’t discuss how we obtain the drugs.” http://time.com/4057922/oklahoma-lethal-injection-richard-glossip/ “It is mind-boggling that a state could get something this basic wrong in a high-profile execution following a Supreme Court challenge to a state’s execution protocol,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which advocates for more transparency in the execution process. “There is no excuse for a state to be so unprepared to carry out an execution.”...

Words: 797 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Oklahoma City Bombing

...victim to brutality, injustice, wrongs and intolerance, terrorism cannot be eradicated. Terrorism was a dormant issue in the media until the attacks on the USA. The organized use of violence to target non-combatants for political purposes, is one of the most effective ways to gain media attention. Mainly used by extremist groups in the hopes of gaining recognition for their cause (weather it is religious, political or otherwise.) Several attacks on the US have recently made headlines. The attack on the USS Cole (October 12, 2000), US Embassy bombings in Kenya + Tanzania (August 7, 1998), Oklahoma City bombing (April 19, 1995) and finally the World Trade Centre bombing on February 26 1993. What we need to recognize about terrorism is its message. Attacks are always perfectly planned and precise, almost showing that they could do better. It was a clear, beautiful day in the town of Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Richard Williams arrived to work as normal, waving and smiling to his co-workers as he headed through the hallways of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building where he was the assistant manager. He responded to a few e-mails and noted some voicemails as he contemplated his day. Shortly after 9 a.m. the building he had worked in for years suddenly became his worst nightmare as that day will go down in history. Just around 9:02 am, a massive explosion rocked its walls and...

Words: 1607 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Capital Punishment : Private or Public

...of the Jamestown Colony was executed by firing squad for a crime of mutiny, thus becoming America’s first official execution (death penalty). During a 32 year span of time there were 1,188 persons executed during the period between 1 January 1977 and 31 December 2009. There were 1,016- lethal injection; 156 electrocutions, 11- gas chamber, 3- hanging and 2- firing squad (death penalty). There are currently only 32 states that allow the death penalty and 18 states that do not have a provision for the death penalty. Currently in most states there are very few that are allowed in to view an execution; a few members of the family, witnesses, few member of victim’s family, prosecutor, defense attorneys and a few members of the press. For anyone else an announcement will be made by the warden, a person with the public information office or the news will come out in the morning paper or newscast on television. The details of the last hours of the executed inmate’s life will be written for all to see; his last meal, who he talked to and what he did with his last day. Democracy demands accountability and transparency, as long as executions are kept behind locked and closed doors this is impossible. Cameras are allowed in to record legislative sessions, presidential debates and courtrooms are allowing more access to trials. Little would change in the death chamber; there would be no faces except for the one being executed and his/her last words to the...

Words: 859 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Trilology

...Death Penalty 1 Death Penalty CJ526: Academic and Professional Communications in Public Safety Dr. Ron Wallace December 17, 2012 Death Penalty 2 The Death Penalty is a violation of human rights. Capital Punishment has been practiced in just about every society. It is a debate that brings about feelings that many believe capital punishment is unfairly imposed, while others believe that it is justified for human crimes. The death penalty is handed down for first-degree, premeditated murder. There are different forms of execution that are used today: Lethal Injection, gas chamber, electrocution, hanging, and the firing squad. Today, (USDOJ, 2010) Hanging is the oldest method of execution in the United States, and was replaced by electrocution as the most common method. There have been only 3 executions by hanging since 1977: Westley Dodd (WA, 1993), Charles Campbell (WA, 1994), and Billy Bailey (DE, 1998). “The first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes. The death penalty was also part of the Fourteenth Century B.C.'s Hittite Code; in the Seventh Century B.C.'s Draconian Code of Athens, which made death the only punishment for all crimes; and in the Fifth Century B.C.'s Roman law of the Twelve Tablets. Death sentences were carried out by such means as crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive, and impalement.” http://www...

Words: 884 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Lethal Injection

...For some cases, life in prison is an understandable sentence. If justice is served, there should be no problem. But, in our court today, those who are sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty usually are not well represented. This means the person who is being tried does not have a high income and cannot afford to hire and pay a lawyer to help his or her case. When this happens, a public defence lawyer is appointed to them. This usually results in that person losing due to poor representation in court, since they can not afford an attorney. Being of a specific race also leads some to believe the conviction rate of that specific race is more common. In reality, those who are tried are more of a certain race with a lower income, making...

Words: 741 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

None

...Crime with Murder Introduction—two wrongs don’t make a right even though two negatives make a positive. I. What is death penalty? A. Methods of execution. B. The history of the death penalty. II. How do you got put on the death row “death penalty” A. What state uses what method? B. What states don’t use any method? III. What do the people think about the death penalty in the U.S.? A. Why are people for the death penalty? B. Why are people against the death penalty? Conclulusion-The death penalty isn’t the right way to go for punishment after a crime it just as worse as the person that committed the crime. Fighting Crime with Murder The death penalty is a common topic and one of the major’s topics today. This research paper as you can already see is about the death penalty and it will show and tell what it is, how it works also how it is wrong because, two wrongs do not make a right even though two negatives make positive. I have learned many of things about the death penalty more than what I expected to learn. I hope by you reading my research paper you will learn how the death penalty isn’t the right way to go just like abortions some people say abortions are right but not the death penalty or the other way around it does not make any sense they both are murdering someone. Yes, the person on the death penalty did something wrong to get there but like I said before two wrongs does not make a right. Make them suffer in the prisons...

Words: 2659 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Abolishing The Death Penalty

...(ProQuest Staff) The Death Penalty, “is the process by which convicted criminals are executed by a governing authority” (Issist and Newton). And “It violated the eighth amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment” (ProQuest Staff). The death penalty should be abolished because it is a violation of the Eighth Amendment and often results in the deaths of innocent citizens. The death penalty should be abolished because it violates the 8th amendment. To begin, the death penalty is cruel and unusual and should not be allowed, but only “Eighteen states have abolished the death penalty” (Issitt and Newton). Warner, committed a murder and was given a botched execution. He was, “In a renovated death chamber, the lethal cocktail began flowing into the veins of...

Words: 731 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Capital Punishment

...Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment Capital punishment is a topic that anyone can count on to stir emotional discussions with plenty of opinions. In the world today, people commit horrific crimes daily. There are many who feel that those who carry out these terrible crimes deserve one fate: death. Capital punishment is used in reference to the death penalty that is issued in a judicial manner to execute those found guilty of a capital or hard offense. This according to our text is called legal punishment. Legal punishment is defined as the state-authorized imposition of some form of deprivation-of liberty, resources, or even life-upon a person justly convicted of a violation of the criminal law. (Stohr, pg 3) In this review of the pros and cons of the death penalty we will examine some different aspects of the process and allow the reader to form their own opinion. History The death penalty can be traced back a long time throughout history. The first established death penalty laws date back to the Eighteenth Century B.C. In the code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which gave the death penalty for 25 different crimes. This code expressed the well-known concept of lex talionis (the law of equal retaliation), which is further enunciated in the Mosaic code, the ancient law of the Hebrews, as “an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.” (Stohr, pg. 3) During the 18th century, many philosophers like Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham wrote influential writings on prison...

Words: 1654 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Postmodernism

...For a South Korean television series, see The Innocent Man (TV series). The Innocent Man | | Author(s) | John Grisham | Country | United States | Publisher | Doubleday | Publication date | October 10, 2006 | Pages | 368 | ISBN | 978-0-385-51723-2 | OCLC Number | 70251230 | The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (2006) is a nonfiction book written by John Grisham, and his first outside the legal fiction genre. The book tells the story of Ronald 'Ron' Keith Williamson of Ada, Oklahoma, a former minor league baseball player who was wrongly convicted in 1988 for the rape and murder of Debra Sue Carter in Ada and was sentenced to death. After serving 11 years on death row, he was exonerated by DNA evidence and other material introduced by the Innocence Project and was released in 1999. Contents * 1 Synopsis * 2 Book edition * 3 References * 4 External links | Synopsis Ron Williamson has returned to his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma after multiple failed attempts to play for various minor league baseball teams, including the Fort Lauderdale Yankees and two farm teams owned by the Oakland A's. An elbow injury inhibited his chances to progress. His big dreams were not enough to overcome the odds (less than 10 percent) of making it to a big league game. His failures lead to, or aggravate, his depression and problem drinking.[1] Early in the morning of December 8, 1982, the body of Debra Sue Carter, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress, was found...

Words: 18140 - Pages: 73

Premium Essay

Death Penalty

...Death Penalty: the easy way out Capital punishment is one of the most controversial issues discussed in the United States. Capital punishment or the death penalty, is used throughout most of the U.S. The debate is over if the death penalty is humane or cruel and unusual. Those against the death penalty believe the death penalty should be removed from the United States all together. There are also some who are against the death penalty because of their religion. Anti-death penalty activist are not only against the death penalty because of the inhumane acts associated with it, but also because of the expenses. I, too, am against the death penalty. With the death penalty part of our country, I believe that we are no better than any other country. The death penalty is wrong and so are the methods used to execute those sentenced to it. There are many reasons to why the death penalty should be abolished from the United States. This year alone, twenty-eight people were executed. Last year forty-three were executed and in 2005, sixty people were executed. The year of 1990 has the most executions at an outstanding number of ninety-eight executions. Since 1976 there have been 1,305 executions. Out of the fifty states, only seventeen are without the death penalty. There are still about 3,170 inmates on death row right now. Throughout the years, the numbers have raised. Those states that are for the death penalty actually have higher crime rates than those who have abolished it. The murder...

Words: 998 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Oklahoma City Bombing Research Paper

...Oklahoma City Bombing: 1995 Mary Kate Hudson EMGT 616 – Spring 2015   A rental truck was filled with improvised explosive devices and was left in front of a busy federal building in Oklahoma City. The aftermath of the explosions left over 150 people dead and many more severely injured. This was the worst case of domestic terrorism that the country had seen to date. Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building The Murrah building was named after an Oklahoma federal judge Alfred P. Murrah. It was designed and created in March of 1977 out of reinforced concrete (Locke). The building had nine floors that contained 16 federal buildings including the Social Security Administration, Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco,...

Words: 1603 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Capital Punishment

...Punishment: Execution by the State 12/8/2011 History of the Death Penalty The first death penalty laws date back to the Eighteenth Century B.C. The death penalty was punishable for 25 different crimes. The death penalty also dates back to the Fourteenth Century when it was punishable for any kind of crimes. In the Fifth Century, death sentences were administered by ways such as drowning, beating to death, burning alive or even crucifixion and in the Tenth Century A.D. hangings became the main method of execution. During the Sixteenth Century, under the power of Henry VIII, 72,000 people were executed by boiling, hanging, beheading, and boiling. People were executed if they had failed to report a crime or committed treason. During the 1700s, even small crimes were punished by death. These crimes included stealing or even cutting down a tree. A total of 222 crimes were punishable by death (“Part I: History of the Death Penalty”). Capital punishment in America was heavily influenced by Britain. When settlers came to the new world, they brought the form of capital punishment with them. Captain George Kendall was the first recorded execution in the United States for being accused of being a spy for Spain. This occurred in 1608, while in 1612 the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws were created, allowing capital punishment to be enforced for the smallest of crimes such as trading with Indians. The death penalty varied from colony to colony. The New York colony followed the Duke...

Words: 3454 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Thompson V. Oklahoma Case Summary

...Title: Thompson V. Oklahoma Citation: 487 US 815 (1988) Argued: (Nov 9, 1987) Decided: (Jun 29, 1988) Facts of the Case: On the night of January 23, William Wayne Thompson brutally murdered his brother in law Charles Keene with the help of his three other companions. During the time of murdered Thompson was only fifteen years old while his friends were older than him. He was tried as an adult and later him and his friends were found guilty and sentenced to death. Thompson’s lawyer didn’t agree with the decision of the lower court and take it to the Oklahoma Appeals Court but they also confirmed the lower court decision. Then Thompson’s lawyer went to the Supreme court and said that giving a capital punishment to a minor child is a violation...

Words: 512 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Death Penalty and Lethal Injection

...Death Penalty and Lethal Injection CRJ 412 Research Methods in Criminal Justice The death penalty has been in practice prior to America being discovered. Executing of an offender has been a popular method of punishment in past history for numerous different crimes. Some of the crimes that could result in execution were stealing, treason, rape and murder. Lynching, hanging, burning, firing squad, lethal gas, electrocution and lethal injection are just some methods of execution that have been used to carry out a death sentence. Some of the past executions have been held in the public so everyone could watch. There have been cases brought against the methods of execution therefore violating the Eighth Amendment, of cruel or unusual inflicted punishment. Lethal injection as a method of execution can be viewed as cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. There has been and always will be debates about the death penalty if it is fair or cruel and unusual punishment. Also, there are always going to be debates and Supreme Court Cases held to see if the methods of execution of the death penalty violate human beings’ rights. One early case, State of Louisiana ex rel. Francis v Resweber (1947) ruled that it was not cruel or unusual punishment to send a man to be electrocuted after he had already been placed in the chair, but had not died due to mechanical fault (Harrison & Melville, 2007). The Supreme...

Words: 2697 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Capital Punishment with Lower Case Judgment

...applications, endorsed wrongful prosecution, in-humane killing tactics, and it costs the states millions per year just to execute an offender. With the consideration of the following factors, one would be obliged to agree with the statement that Capital Punishment should very well be abolished. Throughout its lifetime, Capital punishment has seemed, in many cases to be the most sane and respectable thing to condemn on a person, deserving of such direct discipline. For example, a case held in 1977 that had eventually resulted in the accused's death, was the case of Coker v. Georgia, an alleged murderer, and rapist. In 1974, he was given several sentences on murder, rape and assault charges. He then 3 years into his sentence, escaped Georgia prison, and after breaking into the home of Allen and Elnita Carver, raped Elnita, and stole the family’s vehicle. Cover was convicted of rape, armed robbery, and other offenses, and in June of 1977, was put to death via lethal injection. It was spread over a total span of 4 months and 1 day, and it became the backbone of many cases, like the 2007 Kennedy v. Louisiana case. This case, like the majority of others similar to it, is one people would have a hard time disagreeing with, and most definitely puts...

Words: 1147 - Pages: 5