Death Penalty Facts

In this paper I will be discussing everything you need to know about the death penalty such as its pros and cons. While the innocent can be killed, the death penalty has its pros because it prevents them from killing again if they are released or have escaped from prison, it helps overpopulated prisons, and it can help victims’ families get justice and closure. Not only can the innocent be killed, but in the past the death penalty was very inhumane. To some its feels right but to others they feel like 2 wrongs don’t make a right. Most people think that the defendant deserves the death penalty, but what does the defendants’ family think?

The death penalty is the punishment of execution, administered to someone legally convicted of a capital crime (law.cornell.edu, 2015). The first Congress of the United States authorized the federal death penalty on June 25, 1790 (deathpenalty.org, 2011). The death penalty can also be referred to as capital punishment, however capital punishment also includes a sentence to life in prison, as opposed to strictly executions. A convict can be sentenced to death by various methods including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging. After the death penalty was established, many debates have arisen arguing that these methods violate several of the United States’ Amendments. Select cases have been accused of violating the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. It is important to note that the judiciary goes through a series of processes prior to deciding a sentence for a capital crime. Many factors influencing the verdict include proportional analysis, individualized sentencing, method of execution, and classes of people not eligible of the death penalty. This paper will discuss brief descriptions of the methods used for executions, economical issues, the Supreme Court’s opinion regarding the death penalty, as well as important factors that make up the proportional analysis, individual sentencing process, method used, and determining classes of people who are not eligible for the death penalty.

The death penalty, or capital punishment, has always been a topic of much debate in the United States. There are those who support it and those who oppose it, and each side has their fair share of points being made, backed by supportive evidence. The topics range from the morality of this punishment, including the methods of execution as well as fairness issues in regards to sex and race. The first issue that will be addressed is in regards to the death penalty working to prevent violent crimes.

This paper will discuss the Death Penalty. It analyzes the effectiveness of the death penalty. It covers the history of the death penalty as our nation shifts through various eras in its history, as well as the historical background of the death penalty in New York. It considers all factors such as crime rates, deterrence, the rights of the people, and consequences of the death penalty. Analogies were made of areas all over the country as to what degree the death penalty effects crime all around. It concludes this paper by reflecting on the information provided of the death penalty and provide an alternative to it.

In 2015, over one thousand six hundred and thirty-four people were executed through the death penalty, and eighty-nine percent of them occurred in just three countries alone. The United States is one of these countries, with thirty-two states who allow capital punishment, primarily by lethal injections. Although many people believe that the death penalty is a deserving punishment for criminals, capital punishment is inhumane because it makes us as a society commit the same violent acts we hold criminals accountable for.

Against the Death Penalty: An Annotated Bibliography While the Death Penalty has been historically used as a deterrent of crime, it is barbarity, is economically costly, and racially bias in the United States of America. With this research paper, I will explain how the death penalty should be abolish from our judicial system. Death Penalty Information Center. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org./ This is a website that gives lots of information about the death penalty from the history, current inmates and trials that could lead to death row.

Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty, written by Mark Costanzo, neatly lists reasons for opposition, and abolishment of, the death penalty. Costanzo provides a review of the history of the death penalty, a review of how the death penalty process is working today, questions on whether or not if the death penalty is inhumane and cheaper than life imprisonment. He also questions if the death penalty is fairly applied and the impact, if any, that it has on deterrence. He closely examines the public's support of the death penalty and questions the morality of the death penalty. Finally, Costanzo provides his own resolution and alternative to the death penalty. Each of these items allows the reader an easy, and once again, neat view

CNN’s article, “Death Penalty Fast Facts” evaluates the backstory and archives of death penalty nominees and broke down facts for this article. The article shows the significance of women in death row is miniscule, yet not nonexistent, stating, “Women make up fewer than 2% of inmates sentenced to die on death row in the United States” (caption 1 2017). Capital punishment is legal in 31 states, however New Mexico and Nebraska tried to repeal death row, instead it was not retroactive and inmates are still sent to death row. Pennsylvania also imposed a moratorium on executions in 2015. Prior to the article there are photos of women who were on death row for various crimes, giving faces to these allegations. The article closes with a timeline on

The death penalty has been a controversy in the United States justice system since its commencement (Bakken & Morris, 2010). Although extremely controversial, it has stood the test of time as the definitive penalty. Numerous countries are at present bring an end their death penalty law. Contrary to that, the United States has thirty eight out of its fifty states with death penalty still operational. It seems the United States needs the death penalty more than ever before due to rising rate of sever violent crimes across the nation. Statistics shows that since the early nineties roughly around 355 people have been put to death through death penalty and approximately 3300 are still waiting on death row. Similarly since 1976 around 552 felons have been put to rest through death penalty across the United States (Bakken & Morris, 2010). If you break these deaths down according to the methods utilized about three hundred ninety-four by lethal injection, one hundred forty-one by electrocution, eleven by gas chamber, three by hanging, and two by firing squad. Almost half of the 1976 executions have taken place within the last five years, which includes 52 that took place this year. Even though the death penalty has brought countless gooey criminals to end, the course of death penalty that it is founded on is inconsistent one.

The number of prisoners that was executed under civil authority in the United States for the years 1977 through 2014 is going to be examined within this paper. This paper will examine the prisoners that was executed by the years, region, and jurisdiction. From 1977 through 1999 there was a steady increase within prisoners being executed. The United Stated had a total of 1,394 executions from 1977 through 2014. Majority of the executions occurred at the state level which had a total of 1,391 prisoners executed. While the federal level only had three prisoners executed, which the first two execution occurred in 2001 and there was one execution in 2003. The United States had its highest number of executions in 1999, with a total of 98 executions

The death penalty is quickly becoming one of the more controversial topics in the United States. Currently, there are 31 states where capital punishment is legal. As of April 2016, there have been 1,431 executions in the United States, but the number of executions in recent years has been steadily decreasing (Timmons 2017). The death penalty can be put up for moral debate, and one can ask oneself whether the death penalty is ever morally permissible. There are some pros and cons to having capital punishment. For example, deterrence and prevention are good reasons to have the death penalty, but, in reality, the cons far outweigh the possible benefits that may come from capital punishment. The cost of imposing capital punishment is

Also “offenders aged fifteen and younger at the time of their crimes was unconstitutional” (“introduction to the death penalty”). This shows that there are many factors that prevent a person from getting the death penalty and these limitations protects them from it. In recent years, “the United States numbers of death sentences are steadily declining from 300 in 1998 to 106 in 2009” (“introduction to the death penalty”). This shows that the usage of the death penalty is declining and many people are not being punished with the death penalty. This also shows that the death penalty is still being used in certain crimes in the United States. This is showing that the death penalty might not be used as much in the future.

Death Penalty Information Center, displays the different statistics based on inmates facing the death penalty. Not all states have the death penalty sentence but since 1968, there have been 3,170 inmates in the United States that have faced the death penalty. There have been 724 inmates in California alone, being the most in any state that faced the death penalty. Since about 1979 to 2007 the number of inmates that were executed increased greatly from 539 to 3,215. Due to the statistical evidence of inmates that have been charged with the death penalty, this data base is very critical to my research paper. Knowing the number of inmates sentenced to death row can help me better my understand the crime rates for each state based on the criminals charged with murder because only criminals facing charges of murder can be sentenced to death row based on the eighth amendment.

In this research paper discussed will be the origin, what crimes warrant the death penalty. What laws have the Supreme Court recognized that warrant the death penalty as being cruel and unusual punishment. What are the pros and cons of the death penalty, death penalty vs. life incarceration from a financial standpoint, the death penalty is it a deterrent where crime is concerned, states that have the death penalty, the state with the highest number of death row inmates & the state with the lowest, mentally ill and mental retardation, juveniles, women and the death penalty, statistics of the wrongfully convicted on death row, public opinion of the death penalty, and what God says about the death penalty and biblical scriptures on the

In this report, the area of research is focused directly on capital punishment in America excluding that of religious and cultural beliefs.