...counter arguments that follow. In full support of the former, in his article titled “On Deterrence and the Death Penalty”[ Van Den Haag, Ernest (1969) On Deterrence and the Death Penalty. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 60(2) ], Ernest Van Den Haag outlines his thoughts which support the use of the death penalty and how it might deter heinous crimes against society. The first section of this paper will give a summery of Van Den Haag’s thoughts, which he outlined in the article, including the main points and arguments made which support his view. Following this summary, an in depth analysis of how the article relates to my personal beliefs and understanding of the topic will take place. Summary In section one of the article, the author brings up the point that the purposes of the death penalty must always be understood as being one of two things: doing justice or deterring others. Van den Haag points out that any other aim of a justice system, such as rehabilitation, would not be met by this form of punishment. It is his belief that opponents contesting the use of the death penalty must show that that neither purpose is met in order to illustrate that it should be abolished[ Van Den Haag, Ernest (1969) On Deterrence and the Death Penalty. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 60(2),pp.141]. He then outlines the purpose of his paper which is to challenge the claim that capital punishment is useless as a form of deterrence. Section...
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...three subtopics. Write your thesis statement in the box below: The death penalty is one of the most flawed forms of punishment in the court systems today. It does not penalize a convicted person of 1st degree murder, it echoes ancient roman/ medieval spectacles. | Thesis Statement Grading Criteria: Consider the following questions when developing the thesis statement for your essay. These criteria will be applied when this assignment is graded. The answer to each of the five questions below should be yes if you have drafted a quality thesis statement. 1) Does the thesis statement respond to the writing prompt? Yes 2) Did you take a position that others may oppose? Yes 3) Is the thesis statement specific? Yes 4) Does the thesis pass the “So what?” test? 5) Does the thesis statement not leave the reader with questions? Part 2: Gathering Resources Assignment Directions: Use the GCU elibrary to find three sources to use in your persuasive essay. Fill out the requested information in the table below about your sources. | Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3 | Title and Author(s) | Challenging the Death Penalty w/Statistics: Furman, McCleskey, and a Single County case study.Shats, S. and Dalton, T. | Religious Characteristics and the Death Penalty.Miller, M K., Hayward, R D. | Ending death by dangerousness: A path to the de facto abolition of the death penalty.Berry, William W. | Persistent GCU Library Link |...
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...John Vera English 101H Professor Kaufman 23 October 2014 Is the Death Penalty Actually Effective? Of the many crimes one could commit, murder, felony manslaughter, espionage, genocide, and treason are a few of the crimes that can lead to one paying with the ultimate price, their own life. Lethal injection, gas chamber, firing squad, electrocution, and hanging are the methods of death afforded for those who commit such heinous acts. However, does knowing the possible consequences of capital offenses deter individuals from committing the crimes? Did it make you stop and think? In the United States the death penalty is used as a punishment for capital offenses. These specifically can vary from state to state, but commonly include first-degree murder, murder with special circumstances, rape with additional bodily harm, and the federal crime of treason. (Facts) The goal of the death penalty then, is to deter these crimes from even taking place, to be so feared that offenders think twice about committing such horrible crimes. But does it? In the following paper, the above question will attempt to be answered by looking at the background of capital punishment and the death penalty, the ideas behind it, viable alternatives, and finally, the effectiveness of the death penalty at deterring crime. Early death penalty laws date back to the Eighteenth Century B.C.. The death penalty also had a heavy presence in the Fourteenth Century Hittite Code, the Seventh Century Draconian Code...
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...Rose March 20, 2009 All Holy Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible '95 unless otherwise noted. Capital punishment is an issue that affects the United States in many ways, and even to a larger extent the world. Many industrialized nations have forgone capital punishment as a tool in their criminal justice system. In the United States, 38 states still have provisions in their penal code that allow capital punishment in various forms, in various circumstances and with various populations. Capital punishment--death penalty--is argued by both sides of the issue for diverse reasons. The death penalty may be opposed by some by stating it is considered cruel and unusual punishment (which is in violation to our Constitution). Others would argue that because our legal system is not perfect we should not risk putting to death someone who may be innocent. On the reverse side, the two most common reasons to support the death penalty would be first, it is a just punishment and acts as a deterrent for further crimes that meet that nature. Still others argue the "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" argument; which is biblically based but certainly out of context in this argument. An important question is "where might a Christian come down on this issue?" The answer is not as easy as one might expect. This pastor will attempt to answer that very question using The Sermon on the Mount, and additionally the texts, Ethics, Choosing The Good and evangelical ethics...
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...Argument In my research paper, I will argue the case for the abolition of capital punishment. Outside of the United States, there are only three industrialized democracies that still use the death penalty as part of their justice system (Japan, Singapore, and South Korea). The global movement toward peace can never be led by a country that continues to sanction killing. First, I intend to give an overview of capital punishment, including its history, Supreme Court decisions, and the general controversy. Next, I will present my case by establishing the most relevant points in my argument, including statistics that contradict capital punishment as a crime deterrent, evidence that shows the inconsistency in how defendants are sentenced to death row, and finally evidence of mistaken executions. For my counterargument section, I will acknowledge those who support the death penalty by highlighting their cogent points. The primary counterargument in favor of the death penalty rests on giving the families of victims a sense of closure and justice. This counterargument will be refuted using evidence gathered primarily through national studies and statistics. Finally, I will conclude by summarizing key points in the argument, by offering possible alternatives to the death penalty, and be reasserting the case to federally abolish capital punishment once and for all.Sunshine 2 I do need help with a few questions and concerns I have for the paper. Am I correct in thinking...
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...Our nation, over the course of time, has been a prime target for foreign as well as domestic terrorist threats and attacks. As a result of these despicable actions new laws and acts have emerged with a pugnacious orientation. This paper highlights The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. Understanding the aspects that form these Acts will broaden the understanding of the results enforced by them. Our national security is imperative for the American population to prosper. Effective October 25, 1978, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance act of 1978 or FISA was the result of congressional investigations into federal surveillance activities conducted on behalf of national security. By this act, in order to actively monitor national security threats, Congress desired to approve legalistic and congressional oversight of foreign intelligence surveillance activities. Subsequently, electronic surveillance and the ability to physically locate individuals related to espionage or international terrorism affecting the US was also stipulated. In addition, as the statute describes there may be engagement in applying surveillance to the American population if the court dictates that there is a probable cause, meaning a relation with foreign powers. Many Americans may see this as something wrong and maybe even invasive to the personal life, and although I think it is, this act is about...
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...The death penalty has been seen as a human rights issue as some regard it as 'cruel and degrading' treatment of individuals. This essay will concentrate on three out of the nine safeguards that are in place to protect those facing the death sentence. It will be argued that, in relation to the U.S.A, these safeguards are ineffective in practice. In some instances, U.S domestic law rather than the safeguards offer more protection, and in other instances, the Supreme Court plays a crucial role. Human rights are viewed by many as rights that are held by everyone simply by virtue of being a human being. Their foundation stems from the view that all individuals are equal, and that there are certain rights that everyone should have. In any discussion on human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is of great importance. Its signing in 1948 by the United Nations (UN) marked the 'true start of the international protection of human rights.' The Declaration was a response to the atrocities committed during the Second World War. The Declaration set out fundamental rights; these included the right to life and freedom from torture. These two rights are of vital importance in relation to the death penalty. The problem though, is that the UN Declaration was not binding in law, it had to be ratified by a country for it to be binding. However, that country may exclude from ratification any Articles or Protocols with which it does not agree. Amnesty International (A.I.) is strongly...
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...debate on abolishing Death Penalty in India. The points in observation note that has forwarded to Home Ministry (Source : Frontline November 5) was extra ordinary, which shows that Death Penalty will die at the earliest. WHY SHOULD WE OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY? The thoughts of a Man on Death Row The feelings of some one who knows that he will not be alive, say, a month from now, not because he is terminally ill, but because he will be killed by the state!. It is legitimate to ask how a person behaves when he knows that he has a specified number of days to live a specific number of mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights to live and experience before he enters the realm of the unknown. It is said that many such death row prisoners have probably after an initial period of terror and despair – become calm & collected, resigning themselves to their fate, possibly thinking that, after all, there is an afterlife, that existence in the ordinary sense of the word will not be impaired although it may take on a different form. This is probably why many death-row-prisoners turn to religions books, especially to passages which try to throw light on life after death, strong & disciplined minds are more than likely to have resource to such simulated ‘peace’ particularly so if they have transgressed the law of the land when indulging in activity springing from deep ideological beliefs. Only poor Human beings hanged Most of the study on Death Penalty has concluded that...
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...Resistance: Race and the Death Penalty in America Mark Peffley Jon Hurwitz University of Kentucky University of Pittsburgh Although there exists a large and well-documented “race gap” between whites and blacks in their support for the death penalty, we know relatively little about the nature of these differences and how the races respond to various arguments against the penalty. To explore such differences, we embedded an experiment in a national survey in which respondents are randomly assigned to one of several argument conditions. We find that African Americans are more responsive to argument frames that are both racial (i.e., the death penalty is unfair because most of the people who are executed are black) and nonracial (i.e., too many innocent people are being executed) than are whites, who are highly resistant to persuasion and, in the case of the racial argument, actually become more supportive of the death penalty upon learning that it discriminates against blacks. These interracial differences in response to the framing of arguments against the death penalty can be explained, in part, by the degree to which people attribute the causes of black criminality to either dispositional or systemic forces (i.e., the racial biases of the criminal justice system). he conventional wisdom on public opinion toward the death penalty in the United States, as summarized nicely by Ellsworth and Gross, is that people “feel strongly about the death penalty, know little about it, and...
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...capital sanctions are imposed on the state level for murder. Currently, thirty-two states have death penalty statutes. Of those thirty-two, only seven states carried out executions in 2014 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). Those executions total 35 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). As a result of the low number of executions carried out, experts in the United States have examined the efficiency of the death penalty. To accurately assess the economic costs of the death penalty, the difference between the costs...
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...capital punishment – the Death Penalty. On these talks, she discusses her experiences of being a spiritual advisor to inmates sentenced to death row, and explains what it really means to accompany men to their death, meeting the family of a man doomed to die by the state as well as the families of the victims. She’s a fervent critic of politicians and the legal system, discussing how and when the court system works and when it doesn’t. She also speaks on and of forgiveness. She also writes about her beliefs, latest is a book “the Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions” that came out in 2004. It is a book that delves into her experience of witnessing two men that she believes were wrongfully executed, revealing evidence that the juries did not see. It is the second book after her famous novel “Dead Man Walking”, that was adapted into a hit film by the same name, telling the story of Sister Prejean as she establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet, an inmate on death row. While each story might be of slightly different dynamics and different characters, the message remains that before you make up your mind about the death penalty, learn all that you can about it. She believes that many of the people who are for the death penalty may have never actually reflected on it. In this paper, I will analyze Sister Prejean’s argument against the death penalty as chronicled in her books and essays, and provide a personal response. In her essay “Would...
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...fell. The gun accidentally went off and killed the victim. Should the death penalty be handed down or is it a violation of the eight and fourteen Amendments? In the Furman V. Georgia case, the occupants work in the light to encounter William Henry Furman burglarizing their home. At trial Furman said he was trying to escape, he stumbled and fell and the gun that he was carrying went off accidentally and killed the occupant. His statement contradicted what he said before to the police; he said that he turned and blindly fired a shot while trying to escape. Furman was tried for murder and was found guilty based on his on testimony. He was sentenced to death, but the punishment was not carried out. As a civilized society, we ought to have in placed a system by which we protect our citizens from criminals who seek to do harm to the public. We have had a long history of trials and errors from incarceration in dungeons and jails, to capital punishment. Carried out by hanging, beating, and burning, sacrificing, lethal injection, electric chair, and the list goes on. The writer do believe that harden criminals who commit the most heinous crimes warrants that most severe punishments. However, it must be empowered with a blind eye for discrimination and other arbitrary ways of thinking. In the case of Furman V. Georgia case, the death penalty was not imposed because the court held that the death penalty was being administered in an arbitrary and capricious manner that amounted...
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...Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice The diversity issue focused on in this paper will be racial disparity in sentencing. This paper will also focus on some of the reasons why racial disparity exists within sentencing. One of the research methods used in this paper will be case studies. In society today there are a diversity of citizens, of offenders, and leaders within in the court system. However, race still plays a big role in the Criminal Justice system especially during the sentencing portion. Although racial dynamics may have changed over time, race still exerts an undeniable presence in sentencing process. This ranges from disparate traffic stops due to racial profiling to imposition of the death penalty based on the race of victim and/or offender. (The Sentencing Project, 2005). Here in the United States, African Americans criminals are over represented compared to their number in the general population. According to (Calderon, 2006) “the idea of a racially discriminatory process violates the ideals of equal treatment under law as well as under the constitution that these laws were based on.” Racial discrimination within sentencing is often a complex process, along with other factors, as well as producing racially discriminatory outcomes in certain situations. Racial discrimination has been a big part of this country for a very long time and just because things have started to change it does not mean people’s perception have changed. However, people who are in...
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...state has the responsibility and the legal authority to punish the criminal or groups of criminals based on the given law. The punishment of the criminals may vary from simple fines and imprisonment to sever torture and the deprivation of life. Capital punishment or the death penalty has existed as part of the human justice system since ancient times. In these earlier periods people were sentenced to death as a punishment for crimes considered as first degree offenses by the state. These crimes were most of the time political as well as religious and the method of execution, in addition to different brutal ways, was mainly beheading. With additional types of crimes resulting in capital punishment and more sophisticated methods of execution, the death penalty has continued to be practiced in the 21st century. However, capital punishment, especially after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, has became an issue of greater debate among states, human right organizations and other nongovernmental organizations. Since 1948, the number of countries employing death penalty is decreasing and currently nearly half of the states in our world have abandoned the death penalty for all kinds of crimes. This paper will focus on presenting the diverging views regarding capital punishment mainly from a human right perspective. The study then tries to present facts, figures, and tries to look in brief the move towards its universal abolition. As far as the methods and methodology...
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...Against the Death Penalty Life is sacred. This is an ideal that the majority of people can agree upon to a certain extent. For this reason taking the life of another has always been considered the most deplorable of crimes, one worthy of the harshest available punishment. Thus arises one of the great moral dilemmas of our time. Should taking the life of one who has taken the life of others be considered an available punishment? Is a murderer's life any less sacred than the victim's is? Can capital punishment, the death penalty, execution, legal murder, or whatever a society wishes to call it, be morally justifiable? The underlying question in this issue is if any kind of killing, regardless of reason, can be accepted. In this paper I will discuss if the modern American form of capital punishment can be morally justified Opponents of the death penalty have a distinct advantage when arguing their point over advocates. Their advantage is the fact that taking the life of another is immoral, and if you remove all outstanding circumstances capital punishment is nothing more than legalized murder. This argument alone is not strong enough, though, because of the many circumstances surrounding capital punishment, such as the fact that the convict being executed has more than likely taken someone else's life. The first justification for the claim that capital punishment is immoral is the idea that it creates a climate of violence. If a society punishes a murderer by murdering...
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