...The Death Penalty AJS/552 WK 4 Professor: Joseph Laronge March 31, 2015 By: Tammy J Argie In a time when the people ask that all crimes be punished in some way shape or form the one that has caused the most controversy is the death penalty or also known as capital punishment. Whether on is for or against the death penalty we must remember it has been around since the late eighteenth century B.C. All crimes in that time were punished by death no matter what the crime was. When William the Conquer ruled he allowed only hangings to take place for murders and nothing else (Part 1: History of the death penalty, 2015). The first person to convicted and killed under a death penalty law was Captain George Kendall for being accused of being a spy for Spain. As times changed so did the laws for the death penalty as well as the methods. When hanging, crucifixion, burning alive, drowning, and impalement where used new methods over the years have changed. The use of the electric chair was built in 1860 but began being used in 1890. The first execution by the electric chair was William Frances Kemmler who was convicted of murdering his lover (Part 1: History of the death penalty, 2015). This would be the method used for years to come. As the years progressed and laws changed so did the sentencing of crimes and the death penalty. The last person to date that was electrocuted in the electric chair was Robert Gleason on January 16th of 2013 (Daily mail, 2013). Robert Gleason wanted...
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...The death penalty in the United States and around the World Raul Lopez-Rodriguez Liberty University Online CJUS 230 Professor: Jeffrey Sexton July 31, 2013 Abstract This document explore the advance and disadvantages of the death penalty in the United States. The death penalty has been used by many countries including Europe in the early years of society. In addition, during the years, death penalty has been an option to suppress those who are not so privilege in society. The death penalty crime in those areas, where the Capital punishment is permitted those states are in a higher crime rate. The American Civil Liberties Union has been one of the most important organization in the world in support of many human rights and are against the death penalty. Since, the American Civil Liberties Union gives us; some of the reasons that helps to understand why this punishment does not help to minimize crimes in our society. Although, many lawyers are use or put on the cases to help those in need to be free, there has been many of those lawyers who if they are not paid a good amount of money they will not work hard enough to get them what they deserve which is their liberty. Christianity has not been in support of the death penalty at all and it has been working against the destruction of human beings using the bible as their back up and the Holy Ghost who change people hearts. The death penalty is against the rights of defendant and cannot be...
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...United States Constitution and The State of the Death Penalty in the US As of April 1, 2008, the Death Penalty was authorized by 37 states, the Federal Government, and the U. S. Military. Those jurisdictions without the Death Penalty include 13 states and the District of Columbia. (Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin). Premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state it violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Over two-thirds of the countries in the world 141 have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. In the U. S., 17 states have put an end to state-sanctioned killing. Dakota Territory established the death penalty in 1865. The penalty was carried into North Dakota law at statehood. In 1915, the penalty was restricted to persons convicted of committing a first-degree murder while already under a life sentence for first-degree murder. The death penalty was abolished when North Dakota's new criminal code became effective, July 1, 1975. According to historian Frank E. Vyzralek, only one legal execution took place in the northern half of Dakota Territory in Grand Forks in 1885. Seven legal executions took place after statehood. The last one John Rooney in 1905 was the first to take place inside the prison walls at Bismarck. Previous...
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...Death Penalty 1 The Death Penalty in the United States Rebecca Bartley ENC3211-Report Writing Professor Johnson June 8, 2013 Death Penalty 2 Abstract Death penalty has had so many changes in the last 300 years many states still use the death penalty. There are many states that are abolishing it for any number of different reasons. Many now believe the death penalty is unconstitutional and also cruel and unusual punishment and it should no longer be used. Many believe life in prison is a better remedy than putting someone to death. Keywords: Death Penalty Death Penalty 3 The Death Penalty in the United States: How it has changed over years. The death penalty policies and ideas have changed from state to state over the last ten (10) years. Each state is now making the chose on whether to have or use the death penalty, or to abolish it for any number of reasons. There are a couple of reasons that the death penalty is being abolished: (1) the first would be that many states are starting to believe that it’s unconstitutional; and (2) the death penalty is being used less and less, there are more inmates who are sitting on death row for many years. “New Mexico repeated the death penalty in 2009, and replacing it with a sentence of life without the possibility of parole” (NM repeal, 2012).”With this new Mexico was the last state to implement true life without parole, and in the last five (5) years, five (5) states have repealed the...
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...Kandis Clark CJAD 101 F Dr. J Dropbox Assignment Capital Punishment Two wrongs do not make a right. That is what I believe when it comes to capital punishment.Though it is not right for a human to kill another human, it doesn't make it any better if the governmental system goes around killing criminals as well. I don't agree with capital punishment, and that a criminal would suffer more by being kept alive; serving a life sentence in prison. Capital punishment has it's flaws and doesn't do anything better for the society. The government system can make mistakes while investigating a criminal, in turn, the inmate would be convicted to death row by error. In 1995, the state of Missouri executed Larry Griffin for allegedly murdering a man in a drive-by shooting. ("Executed") Griffin maintained his innocence until his death, and in 2007 the St. Louis Circuit Attorney found that Griffin was guilty, due to a false witness testimony. It goes to show that many people sit on death row waiting to get executed are in all actuality guilty of their crime. You can keep a killer off the streets without executing them, by giving them life without parole. It won't be easy for the criminal, for he will be thinking about how he will spend the rest of his life locked up, knowing he will never get out. According to an issue in the ACLU of Northern California, letting a person die while serving a sentence of life without parole, is 3x cheaper and also protects any mistakes of sentencing...
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...Capital Punishment Jason Schill One of the most talked about and controversial topics in any Criminal Justice, physiology, or philosophy class is Capital punishment or the act of taking a life for committing a crime. You can’t watch any election involving politics without hearing their stance on capital punishment are they for it or not? After reading the first paragraph you can start to guess what this paper is going to be about, my paper is going to be about my position on the death penalty and how I agree with Blackmun’s ideas on why the death penalty is unconstitutional. Also I am going to add sources to help with my persuasive argument. An argument can be made that the death penalty is not important and it does not affect most people, but most people pay taxes and our prison system comes and goes by how much money is poured into it, and the fact of the matter is that putting someone to death is an expensive process which can be argued that the tax payers are affected by it. So by saying that I think the death penalty is a very crucial topic that almost everyone has an opinion on. I’m going to start my persuasive argument with a quote by Associate Justice Harry Blackmun, after the Callins v. Collins case, Blackmun said “We hope, of course that the defendant whose life is at risk will be represented by competent counsel someone who is inspired by the awareness that a less than vigorous defense will have truly fatal confidence”. (Abelson 292) This is a crucial point in...
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...Running Head: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Capital Punishment Kathleen Predmore Abstract Capital Punishment should it be abolished or continue? Over 15,269 Americans have been executed since the beginning of the death penalty in the United Sates, which dates back to colonial times. Some people see it as a barbaric means of punishment while others see it as an important tool for fighting pre-meditated murder and other horrific crimes. The death penalty has bee in existence since the Eighteenth Century B.C. At first, it was carried out by horrific means, boiling, beheading, and burning at the steak just to name a few. Later as man became more civilized, more humane methods were invented and used. It was not until the Nineteenth Century that the death penalty finally found opposition. Since then the civilized world has been at odds on whether to abolish the death penalty. In conclusion, the reasons for abolishing it as well as reasons against abolishing the death penalty are argued; however, the victims of the crimes and their families cannot be ignored. . Over 15,269 Americans have been executed since the beginning of the death penalty in the United Sates, which dates back to colonial times. America remains a minority of nations in the world that still uses the death penalty for punishment of certain crimes. Many see this as a barbaric and against human values. Others see it as a very important means to fighting violent crime and pre-meditated murder...
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...Problem Definition Assignment Capital Punishment The issues on capital punishment and the problems associated, this policy should always be considered an issue until it is resolved in a just manner. Capital punishment directly violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment, giving the authority to take the life of another, if for no other reason, than it is discriminatory, or done in a premeditatory fashion. One chief complaint is that capital punishment exacts retribution for crimes that severs as justice to murder victims and their survivors. Another complaint is the inequities that relate to the moratorium on executions, this just states the debate as to the fairness of the policy. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), their opposition is that the death penalty in the US is applied in a manner that is unfair towards people, based on money, skills of their attorney, race and where the crimes have taken place. Statistics state that the race of the victim is the biggest factor in determining whether or not a person will be executed. The importance of capital punishment is to answer some direct questions: 1. Does this deter crime? 2. Is this fiscally responsible for the government and taxpayers? Does this somehow fix the deficit? 3. Does this create a better economy? 4. Who does this punishment have the greatest impact on? This paper will cover, checking governmental policies, state and federal in Missouri, other states as a...
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...Penalty My “Big Idea” topic is on the death penalty. My thesis statement is: Capital punishment is controversial and people have many different feelings about it but I believe that the death penalty is beneficial to society and the public and that the United States should continue to use capital punishment. When doing research for an essay paper it is important to use reputable sources and avoid unreliable or opinionated web sites or articles, such as Wikipedia and Answers.com. Areas or items I will use to do research for my death penalty paper will be the U.S. Department of Justice, Amnesty International, CNN news reports and articles, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Pro-death Penalty web site. The Kaplan library has a Homeland Security Digital Library database which might contain some information that I can use and the Newspaper Source database is bound to have some pertinent information. The Kaplan library also has an abundance of articles and reports as well as a database with news and current topics I can explore for information. To get an idea of some material readily available in the Kaplan library database I did a keyword search on “pro death penalty” articles and three periodicals came up that I am going to review and they are: Top Ten Death Penalty Myths: The Politics of Crime Control; Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment; and Capital Punishment: A Century of Discontinuous Debate. I am confident that I will be able to obtain...
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...THE DEATH PENALTY Does capital punishment act as a better deterrent to murder than a long prison sentence? The first legal execution of a criminal in America was in 1623 in the Jamestown colony where Daniel Franken was hung for theft. (Frank D.) During the Colonial period, a person could be put to death for a variety of reasons, as opposed to modern times where the crime must consist of willful murder. Hanging remained the primary means of execution until August 6, 1890, when William Kemmler became the first person to be executed by way of the electric chair. Throughout the 20th century additional methods were used, including the gas chamber, firing squad and lethal injection, all of which remain employed today. After centuries of executions, one would think lawmakers would have realized that the death penalty is unequally applied and does not deter crime. All States that employ the death penalty use lethal injection as their primary means. Traditionally, the lethal cocktail has consisted of Sodium Thiopental, to render the condemned unconscious, Pancuronium Bromide to relax the muscles to the point of apparent paralysis, and Potassium Chloride to stop the heart. The manufacturers of these drugs are primarily European companies. Recently, these companies were prohibited by the European Union to export the drugs for lethal injection purposes. This ban has resulted in a mass shortage of the required drugs. Due to the lack of supply...
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...Death Penalty Fails to Rehabilitate What would it accomplish to put someone on death row? The victim is already dead-you cannot bring him back. When the opponents feel “fear of death” will prevent one from committing murder, it is not true because most murders are done on the “heat of passion” when a person cannot think rationally. Therefore, how can one even have time to think of fear in the heat of passion (Internet)? ACLU and Murderers Penniless The American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) is working for a moratorium on executions and to put an end to state-sanctioned murder in the United States. They claim it is very disturbing to anyone who values human life. In the article of the ACLU Evolution Watch, the American Bar Association said the quality of the legal representation is substantial. Ninety-nine percent of criminal defendants end up penniless by the time their case is up for appeal. They claim they are treated unfairly. Most murderers who do not have any money, receive the death penalty. Those who live in counties pro-death penalty are more likely to receive the death penalty. (Internet). Death Penalty Failed as a Deterrent Some criminologist claim they have statistically proven that when an execution is publicized, more murders occur in the day and weeks that follow. A good example is in the Linberg kidnapping. A number of states adopted the death penalty for crime like this, but figures showed kidnapping increased...
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...DEATH PENALTY ARGUMENTS: Deterrent or Revenge (Pros and Cons) INTRODUCTION What is Capital punishment? Capital punishment is the death penalty. It is used today and was used in ancient times to punish a variety of offenses. Even the bible advocates death for murder and other crimes like kidnapping and witchcraft. When the word death penalty is used, it makes yelling and screaming from both sides of extremist. One side may say deterrence, while the other side may say, but you may execute an innocent man. Today, one of the most debated issues in the Criminal Justice System is the issue of capital punishment or the death penalty. Capital punishment was legal until 1972, when the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia stating that it violated the Eight and Fourteen Amendments citing cruel and unusual punishment. However, in 1976, the Supreme Court reversed itself with Gregg v. Georgia and reinstated the death penalty but not all states have the death penalty. Thirteen states do not have the death penalty: Alaska, District of Colombia, Hawaii, Iowa, Main, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY (CONS) Death Penalty Fails to Rehabilitate What would it accomplish to put someone on death row? The victim is already dead-you cannot bring him back. When the opponents...
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...and has been awarded 14 honorary doctorate degrees. Executive Director of EJI, has won national acclaim for his work challenging bias against the poor and people of color in the criminal justice system. Since graduating from Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government, he has assisted in securing relief for dozens of condemned prisoners, advocated for poor people and developed community-based reform litigation aimed at improving the administration of criminal justice. He also is on the law faculty at New York University School of Law. Stevenson’s work has won him national acclaim. In 1995, he was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship Award Prize. He is also a 1989 recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award, the 1991 ACLU National Medal of Liberty, and in 1996, he was named the Public Interest Lawyer of the Year by the National Association of...
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...Douglas S. Coppin The Effects of Capital Punishments NIC / Executive Leadership June 2013 Evidence-Based Practice in the Criminal Justice System The phrase “because we have always done it that way” universally is no longer acceptable as it pertains to working in many sectors of the work-force, especially within the criminal justice system. Constant financial pressure to streamline budgets, coupled with ever-changing political climates have forced criminal justice organizations to embrace evidence-based concepts and practices. Evidence-based practice is defined as the use of practices that have been scientifically tested and proven effective. In simple terms, doing what works. This has led to drastic changes in various sectors from police operations, probation, sentencing, etc. When examining capital punishment the first question that must be asked is why do we do it? Is it simply a universal response to an atrocious act committed by an offender? If so, then there is no need to look any further. However, thousands of capital offense convictions are handed down annually in the U.S., yet most do not result in death penalty sentences. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that there is much more complexities in play once the state hands down capital punishment. Possible Effects of Capital Punishments at a Glance By and large, capital punishment in the United States is handed down to those offenders that are found guilty of homicide. Although not limited...
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...those to face the death sentence as a way of receiving justice? The death penalty has existed for over 200 years in our country, and is still active today. It is the practice of taking a wrong doers life as a form of just actions. Since the year 1976, it was calculated that 1,392 inmates were sentenced to death. Currently, there are 2,816 inmates waiting to meet their fate on death row, however, the death penalty is brutal and should no longer be used in the United States as a form of punishment. The first execution recorded in history relates back to Hammurabi’s Code that was enforced in 1792 until 1750 B.C. King Hammurabi’s words and/or motto was “An eye...
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