...be sentenced to this, all other states have a eighteen limit (Pros and Cons Part Two). It should be legal to have the death penalty for juveniles, because dangerous criminal juveniles deserve the same punishment as adults. Juveniles are equal to a grow adult when they break these severe laws. Dangerous criminal minors deserve the same punishment as anyone else. Countries that support these executions include the United States, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen(History of the Death Penalty, Linn). Ninety Seven children have been executed since the year 1900 (HIstory of the Death Penalty, Linn). These children are dangerous people and we cannot trust them again in a public setting. The counties that allow this penalty see them as criminals , there is no age limit for committing crimes. Another reason for juvenile death penalty would include how they would live the rest of their lives out....
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...There have been many cases that question whether or not the execution of minors and people with special needs is cruel and unusual punishment. In the year of 1993 a seventeen year old male named Christopher Simmons was sentenced to the death penalty after committing capital murder of a young woman. The penalty was sentenced soon after he turned the age of eighteen. After a series of appeals were sent to federal and state courts the case landed at the Missouri State Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court had opposite standings on the execution of Christopher Simmons, while the Missouri Supreme Court wanted Simmons to be executed still after multiple appeals and protests went on, the U.S. Supreme...
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...Andre Thomas case, I was first horrified by how critical Thomas' mental illness had become. The Texas tribune has listed a timeline of Thomas' life. It is clear that he had severe mental health issues and for whatever reason was allowed to be without care. The Pros and the Cons of the Death Penalty Morality is often at the center of the debate of the Death Penalty. Many believe that the death penalty is morally wrong due to the government's decision to take another life (Top). But, it's also morally wrong to commit the crimes that those on death row have committed. For example, Andre Thomas, although mentally ill, murdered his wife and family. It's also morally wrong to take innocent lives. The costs could also be a factor. While keeping a person in prison for life can be costly, the death penalty will keep control of the costs of tax payers (Top). Tax payers have to pay for the cost of living for the incarcerated, and with rising numbers, their are rising costs. The death penalty allows for...
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...The death penalty has been the cause of a large controversy all across the United States for hundreds of years. In this country, there are both the supporters and non-supporters of the death penalty. Although it may seem that the use of the death penalty should be like night and day, this is not the case. The reason that the death penalty is such a controversial topic is because there are many arguments that both sides may propose against each other. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion, the cold, hard, facts are undeniable. Studies shown over more recent years are providing more and more information about the death penalty that has not been discovered in prior years. More specifically, there are multiple variables that should be taken into consideration that show why, plain and simple, the death penalty should be considered wrong. A fact of the death penalty system is that it is disproportionate. Whether one is a supporter or non-supporter of the death penalty, this fact cannot be denied. The death penalty system is disproportionate because of the simple fact that the crimes punishable by death in each state vary completely. The Death Penalty Information Center website provides a “summary of states’ death penalty statutes.” In this article, one can find every reason one may receive the death penalty in each state of the United States. Here, it is easy to see that certain crimes are punishable by death in one state but may not be in another. For example, someone...
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...society is the use of capital punishment, informally known as the death penalty. There are two main sides to this topic; some people want to abolish the death penalty, while others want to continue or even increase its use. The people that want to abolish the death penalty view it as unconstitutional, as they see it as “cruel and unusual;” while others view the death penalty as an appropriate punishment that fits the horrendous crime of murder. The death penalty has been shown to have a deterrent effect on crime, which is why the U.S.A and other nations worldwide should continue the use of capital punishment (Muhlhausen). HISTORY The death penalty has been around since the start of time. It is...
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...The case that I have been referring to is the case of McCleskey v Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987). This case has held high significance in the legal and social communities. The reason it was so significant was because it was the first case that the plaintiff provided a scientific study to back up their claims that racial discrimination is prevalent in the death sentencing process. It was also significant because it exposed the Supreme Court’s failure to take action against this issue. Fifteen years previously the Supreme Court reviewed the case of Furman v Georgia, 480 U.S. 238 (1972) that highlighted a similar issue. The case resulted in different opinions among the majority of the justices and no clear remedy on how to fix the issue at hand. The McCleskey v Kemp case is the...
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...European colonies. The earliest recorded execution dates back to 1608 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011) . However, the use of capital punishment in the United States centuries later has been very controversial. Thirty-four states still use the death penalty as a punishment while 16 states have abolished its use (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011) . The constitutionality of capital punishment is in question and is constantly interpreted. The death penalty requires arbitrary decisions to be made by jurors. The studies on race in death penalty cases, the exonerations of those individuals on death row, and the cost of the death penalty are reasons to abolish capital punishment in the United States. Recent studies on the death penalty show surprising facts about the race of defendant and victim. In North Carolina it was found that the odds of receiving the death penalty rose by 3.5 for defendants whose victims were white. A California study found that defendants who murdered Whites were three times more likely to receive the death penalty than those who murdered Blacks and four times more likely than those who murdered Latinos. Race-of-victim and race-of-defendant discrimination has been found in 96 percent of the states in which death penalty and race studies have taken place (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011) . The exonerations of those on death row are somewhat shocking. To know that individuals on death row could be innocent should deter the public from supporting capital...
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...Punishment Works: Concepts of An Ideal Model Throughout the history of capital punishment, there have always been many criticisms of the penalty questioning everything from racial motivations to give the penalty, to why or why not juveniles should be exempt from the penalty, to the economic efficiency of it. Economically, many believe that the death penalty is a too long and drawn out process, and that giving life in prison is a more efficient process, and saves tax-payer money. In terms of discrimination, there has always been a subliminal sense against certain groups; with those being minorities and juveniles. The death penalty is supposed to only be given as a punishment based on the nature of a crime. However, certain statutes such as the minimum age law for the death penalty attempt to prevent true justice. If a juvenile is deemed competent, and their crime is heinous enough to incur the death penalty, then there is no reason as to why they should not be given it. As for minorities, there have always been questions as to why the majority of inmates on death row are African American. Although racism seems to be the easy answer, it is clear that the true reason is because many African Americans live in higher poverty areas were crime is rampant, thus making them more susceptible to committing heinous crimes. The death penalty should defend certain peoples, and should be used more often against certain races. It should merely aim to prevent those who have committed heinous...
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...The Use of the Death Penalty A Paper Presented by the National Policy Committee to The American Society of Criminology National Policy Committee James Austin, Chair Kitty Calavita Roland Chilton Jeffrey Fagan Calvin C. Johnson Delores Jones-Brown Mark Moore Ira Schwartz Linda Teplin Franklin Zimring November 2001 The findings and opinions contained herein are those of the National Policy Committee and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the American Society of Criminology. Ronald Weitzer, Professor of Sociology, Dana Coleman, Research Assistant, and Sarah Benatar, Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute on Crime, Justice, and Corrections at George Washington University provided substantial assistance in the preparation of this document. Introduction Capital punishment is among the most hotly debated issues in American politics. Passions run high for both those who want the death penalty abolished and those who seek to preserve or expand its use. What follows is a summary of key issues in the death penalty debate, research findings on the application of capital punishment, and a discussion of policy considerations. The American Society of Criminology (ASC) is greatly concerned with the death penalty and its application in the United States. This year, ASC President Ronald Huff and the ASC Executive Board authorized the ASC’s National Policy Committee (NPC) to develop a policy paper that would focus on...
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...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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...decades people have debated the death penalty. These discussions have taken place at the water cooler in the workplace as well as at family dinners. Some people see it as a barbaric form of torture, and others see it as a necessity of modern life. Most people do not understand the complex issues that heads of states need to evaluate regarding the death penalty. In conference rooms they discuss issues such as costs, wrongful convictions and what they could do with the additional revenues. Even though some people see the death penalty as a crime deterrent, in this economy individual states have to rethink the financial costs involved. Many people do not realize the additional costs associated with a death penalty case. People who are in support of the death penalty believe that it is cheaper to execute a criminal than to leave them in a jail cell paid for with the money individual's pay to the government in taxes. California is second to Texas in regard to juries and county prosecutors condemning people with a death sentence. (Tempest, 2005) What they do not realize is that at times it can take more than two decades for a death sentence to come to the conclusion of an execution. The trial alone in a death penalty case can cost millions more to prosecute. A study in Maryland estimates that the average cost to taxpayers for reaching a single death sentence is $3 million - $1.9 million more than the cost of a non-death penalty case. (Roman, J., Chalfin, A., Sundquist...
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...Is the Death Penalty a Fair and Effective Deterrent in the United States? Abstract The death penalty is the most severe punishment that may be imposed on an individual by the United States government. It denies a person one of their most basic human rights, which is the right to live. One of the purposes of the death penalty is to serve as a deterrent for other would-be criminals. There have been studies conducted to determine if the death penalty is effective in this regard. There is another point of disparity surrounding the death penalty related to the equality of its application. Are all citizens treated equal? This paper takes a closer look at the equality in the application of the death penalty and its effectiveness as a deterrent. Is the Death Penalty a Fair and Effective Deterrent in the United States? The death penalty came to the United States with the first European settlers and continued until the 1960’s. “The 1960s brought challenges to the fundamental legality of the death penalty. Before then, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment, and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.” (Bohm, 1999) Since the 1960’s courts have been battling the issue of the death penalty. Currently there are 38 states that have provisions for the death penalty. What is the purpose of the death...
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...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...
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...The Death Penalty The death penalty is a just and proper punishment 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. There are currently 35 states with the death penalty and 15 states that do not have it. When the word death penalty is used, it stirs up a lot of debates from both the people that agree versus the ones that do not. One side may say it acts as deterrence from others to not commit crimes, while the other side may say, but it may take the life of an innocent man. Federal, state, and local officials need to recognize that the death penalty saves lives. How capital punishment affects murder rates can be explained through general deterrence theory, which supposes that increasing the risk of apprehension and punishment for crime deters individuals from committing crime. Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker's seminal 1968 study of the economics of crime assumed that individuals respond to the costs and benefits of committing crime. According to deterrence theory, criminals are no different from law-abiding people. Criminals "rationally...
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...Death Penalty By Susan Doe PHI 103 April 15, 2013 Is the Death Penalty Just and Applied Fairly? The death penalty, also known as capital punishment, is the punishment of execution, administered to someone convicted of a capital crime; it is the most severe form of corporal punishment. The death penalty in the United States has been an ongoing debate throughout history. Capital punishment has been banned in many countries, except in the United States; there are thirty-three states that currently have the death penalty. According to ProCon.org, the United States has executed 1057 people from 1997 through 2006. There are some that are against the death penalty, they feel that it is unconstitutional and immoral. Then, there are others that have a different feeling towards the death penalty; they feel that the ones that commit serious capital crimes should be punished with their own life. Those that support capital punishment say that it is deterrence and that it wastes money on the ones that are doing life. Those that are against capital punishment say that it is killing innocent people and that it is not saving money, that it costs more to put someone on death row. Is the death penalty just and applied fairly? There is no evidence that supports the death penalty being a deterrent to violent crimes. The death penalty is a waste of taxpayer’s money. There have been many innocent people have been sent to death row. Both sides will be argued to give an unprejudiced look with...
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