Death Penalty Thesis

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 is a controversial topic in the United States today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty was overturned and then reinstated in the United States during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness. The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions has increased during the 1990's. There are a number of arguments for and against the death penalty. Many death penalty supporters feel that the death penalty reduces crime because it deters people from committing murder if they know that they will receive the death penalty if they are caught. Others in favor of the death penalty feel that even if it doesn't deter others from committing crimes, it will eliminate

Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.

Baldus study was based on more than two thousand murder cases in Georgia, and “the study found that defendants charged with killing white victims received the death penalty eleven times more often than defendants charged with killing black victims.” (Alexander p.110) Baldus Study was significant to this chapter because it shows patterns of discrimination and how the government and police enforcement use race to harass African Americans.

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution 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. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

The death penalty is a capital punishment that is put into effect for major crimes. The death penalty is a very controversial topic in the United States and throughout the world. There was a time period were the death penalty was banned for about four years in 1972-1976. Many feel that the death penalty is justice because it is retribution toward criminals who have committed heinous crimes. However the death penalty is inhumane and should be abolished in the United States.

By the 1950s, it was not uncommon for both state and federal appellate courts to review a defendant’s capital conviction. In recent

In the United States, the use of the death penalty continues to be a controversial issue. Every election year, politicians, wishing to appeal to the moral sentiments of voters, routinely compete with each other as to who will be toughest in extending the death penalty to those persons who have been convicted of first-degree murder. Both proponents and opponents of capital punishment present compelling arguments to support their claims. Often their arguments are made on different interpretations of what is moral in a just society. In this essay, I intend to present major arguments of those who support the death penalty and those who are opposed to state sanctioned executions application . However, I do intend to fairly and accurately

The Baldus study was introduced to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986 during the appeal of Warren McCleskey convicted for murder. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987) rejected McCleskey’s claim that the Georgia death penalty statute was implemented in the racially biased way and violated the eighth and fourteenth amendments. McCleskey v. Kemp was a 1987 Supreme Court case in which a black man was convicted of murdering a white police officer in Georgia and was sentenced to death. In a writ of habeas corpus, McCleskey argued that a statistical study proved that the imposition of the death penalty in Georgia depended to some extent of the race of the victim, and the race of the defendant. The study found that black defendants who murder white victims are more likely to receive the death penalty than those who murder black victims in the state of Georgia. This study also showed that in Georgia in 1970, defendants charged with the murder of a white person received the death penalty in 11 percent of cases but defendants charged with the murder of a black person only got sentenced to death in 1 percent of cases. The Baldus study claims to show the difference in the imposition in the death penalty sentence based on the race of the murder victim and, to a lesser extent, the race of the defendant. For instance, if a black defendant kills a white victim the death penalty was imposed in 22 percent of cases; a white defendant and a white victim only eight percent get the death penalty; a mere one percent in cases involving black defendants and black victims; and if a white defendant kills a black victim the death penalty was assessed in 3 percent of the

This case presents the question whether a complex statistical study that indicates a risk that racial considerations enter into capital sentencing determinations proves that petitioner McCleskey's capital sentence is unconstitutional under the Eighth or Fourteenth Amendment.

Georgia case, one of the most influential cases on the death penalty, were still very fluid (Norton, 2015). In 1965, significantly more people opposed the death penalty (47%) than believed in its use (38%) (Norton, 2015). However, just four years later in 1969, the statistics were completely reversed – the percentage of people that believed in the death penalty was now at 48% while the proportion of those opposed its use was at 38% (Norton, 2015). Then, by 1970, in the last Harris Poll before the Furman decision, the opinions shifted even more and began to close the gap, which created even more confusion in such a polarizing debate (Norton,

The eighth amendment is designed to protect us from cruel and unusual punishment. Conservation of the United States Constitution, and all moral ideologies have been set aside. An old form of barbaric punishment and the saying "eye for an eye" is still being widely accepted by Americans today. The old form of barbaric punishment is capital punishment. No matter how "humane" the death penalty has become, it is still the killing of another human being. When people stand outside prisons and cheer that an individual was murdered, there is a problem. When people justify the killing of another person, there

The Death Penalty Discussion In today’s world terrible crimes are being committed daily. Many people believe that these criminals deserve one fate; death. Death penalty is the maximum sentence used in punishing people who kill another human being and is a very controversial method of punishment. Capital punishment is a legal infliction of death penalty and since ancient times it has bee used to punish a large variety of offences.

I. The death penalty does not deter crime and has no beneficial effect on murder rates.

My overall experience taking ENGL 1100 has a wonderful. I have learned allot about my writing skills. I can say that my greatest weakness always have been writing essays. When I was reading the Syllabus I was overwhelmed with the amount of work the class had, and a little scared. Every week discussion, assignments, and 4 essays had to be completed during the semester. I am going to write on my reflection what were weak and my area of strengths.