No matter what the crime is, the Constitution is supposed to help protect the accused’s rights during arrest, trial, and sentencing. The Sixth Amendment clearly states that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed… and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense”. If the accused is found to be guilty, the Eighth Amendment is there to protect us from the possibility of cruel and unusual punishment. This is something as an American we all expect and we all assume is what happens, but what if you’re a minority, or have a mental impairment and you’re facing the death penalty, can you expect the same rights? Recent studies have shown that while the use of the death penalty have gone down over the years since it was reinstated in 1976, there is still a staggering number of statics showing inequality in the application of its use. A law professor from the University of Iowa, David C. Baldus and two colleagues published a study not long after the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 (Dow, 2011). In this study it looked at over 2,000 homicide cases just within Georgia alone beginning in 1972, what they found was startling (Dow, 2011). Baldus found that black defendants were 1.7 times more likely to be given the death penalty than white defendants and those who murdered white victims were actually 4.3 times more apt to be
This Amendment was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789 and was ratified by the states December 15, 1789. It is a part of the Bill of Rights, the first Ten Amendments of the Constitution.
or public danger. No one can be put on trial again for the same crime.
Crimes are not always admitted. The Fifth Amendment gives the right to say “I plead the Fifth” which means that once you say that then nobody can make one talk and tell that you have done something wrong or just anything in general. In this case it is about committing crimes so if someone pleads the Fifth then they do not have to admit the crime or say anything after that and nobody makes that person. This is good for many people. The people that admit the crime it is better for them but it also helps the community. Pleading the Fifth saves a lot of time, the person that committed crime does not have to be known as a liar as well as a murder, and usually the person who committed the crime does not like to admit it and they do not have to admit it.
The Fifth amendment was made, in 1791. to make sure that no one could be tried for the same reason more than once. This was important to include it in the declaration of independence to protect the rights of the criminally accused and to influence the people’s rights to life, liberty, and property. In the Chambers vs Florida case, men were accused of a murder because of their skin color and were proved innocent and this was considered violated do to the fifth amendment. In another case called Ashcraft v. Tennessee, had included a man who was a suspect of the tennessee police and was then forced to a false confession by them, in an interrogation, which violated his wright given by the fifth amendment. In a similar case called Miranda v. Arizona, a man was sent to an interrogation and was not notified of his rights with a warning, which violates the
The Sixth Amendment of the United States states “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense (CRS Annotated Constitution, n.d.).” The Sixth Amendment offers seven rights to everyone; (1) a speedy trial; (2) a public trial; (3) an unbiased jury; (4) told the charges against him/her; (5) able to confront those against him/her; (6) able to provide a witness in his/her favor; (7) right to lawful guidance. The Sixth Amendment is extremely important because it protects the rights of those being accused with criminal charges. It ensures that the process of conviction is done fairly and no one is deprived of their rights and unfairly charged.
The next right that will be discussed is the right to a fair trial by jury, this right entails four different amendments (Candela Open Courses, n.d.(b)). The amendments that this pertains to are the 4th, 5th, 6th, and the 8th. The fourth amendment is the right of a person to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The searches and seizures can be done if there is a probable cause. Over the years, the courts have interpreted the amendment to allow police to search the following: person arrested, items in plain sight, property where there could be an immediate danger to anyone, and things that are in the arrested persons reach or touch. The fifth amendment requires that citizens can’t be accused of a serious crime without a grand jury investigation (Candela Open Courses, n.d.(b)). This also forbids double jeopardy, meaning that a person can’t be tried for the same crime for a second time. The fifth amendment protects a person from testifying against himself or herself in a trial. This amendment also enacted the “Miranda Rights”, that a person has the right to remain silent. The sixth amendment is
Explain the details of what the Fifth Amendment provides citizens and its use of it in the 2012 Meningitis Outbreak?
Our rights as given to us by the Constitution of United States of America are important to ensure our protection from government. Everyone has equal rights and protection and cannot lose these rights. One of these rights is the Fifth Amendment that protects all U.S. citizens against self-incrimination, or causing oneself to be deemed guilty of a crime. Understanding this right can help prevent the government from abusing our rights. In the case of the Central Park jogger, these young men lives were changed forever for simply not understanding or given warning that they are guaranteed rights to protect
There have been 6 total executions in 2017, 4 of them have been in Texas. The other 2 were in Virginia and Missouri. Of these 6 executions there were 12 victims, of those victims 1 was Black and 2 were Latino. Six of the defendants executed, 3 were people of color. (DPIC website, “Execution List 2017”). These facts bring to light a real problem in the US. A defendant of color is more likely to get the death penalty for the murder of a white victim, before a white defendant who murders a victim of color.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional because the capital-punishment laws gave states the discretion to impose the death sentence in a manner the states deemed appropriate; therefore, disproportionately imposing the sentence on the disadvantaged, African-Americans and other races or groups of people that states identified as insufficient . Nevertheless, it is a known fact that race and poverty have always corrupted our legal system when loopholes in the Thirteenth Amendment allowed convict leasing to emerge through a series of restrictive laws known as the Black Codes, resulting in the unjustified incarceration of African-Americans. Unfortunately, in 21st Century America, our criminal justice system continues
The death penalty is always a controversial subject. This controversy is because people have different perspectives on the decisions of the criminal justice system and capital punishment. These different outlooks and opinions of the justice system and the death penalty lead to debates. Some of these debates are based on whether the race of the defendant and victim affect the decision of the death penalty. One of the major concerns are the number of death sentences among murder convictions based on the race of the defendant. The Death Penalty Information Center published a study called “The Death Penalty in Black and White”, in 1998. This study follows 667 murder convictions in Philadelphia between 1983 and 1993. The study was conducted to
In his 2008 article titled “The death penalty is losing” Glen Stassen points that the criminal justice system as a whole is grossly biased against [minorities] and against the poor… In 2002, approximately 791,600 African American men were in prison… The U.S. makes up 5% of the world 's population, but it has 25% of the world 's prison population. 48% of those in prison are black... One-third of all African American men in Alabama have lost their right to vote. With the death penalty, once a person is executed, there is no way to correct a wrong sentence. This is a gross violation of the human rights…. (pars.6)
A growing number of studies reveal that racial bias plays a significant role in whether a convicted criminal receives the death penalty. One big player of the death penalty is discrimination towards poor people and african americans. Opposers think that concerns about racial discrimination are misplaced because there is no convincing evidence that race is an influence in the system of the death penalty. The implementation of capital punishment includes discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and social classes (Is). There is evidence that shows that race is an important factor in determining who will be sentenced to die and who will receive a lesser punishment for the same crime. Opposers of the death penalty argue that the death penalty is unfair, that blacks and poor people are more likely to receive the death penalty than are whites (Death). In Alabama, 43 percent out of their 117 death row inmates were black and yet blacks made up only 26 percent of their population. In Louisiana, 68 percent out their 41 death row inmates were blacks, and yet 25 percent of the state’s population were made up of blacks. In South Carolina, 42 percent of their 50 death row inmates are black, yet blacks make up 30 percent their population. In Virginia, 50 percent of their 47 death row inmates are blacks, yet blacks make up 19 percent of their population. (Evans) Across the nation about 80 percent of the victims in the underlying murder in death penalty cases are black, while 50 percent
One of the most infuriating facts about the death penalty is how disproportionately different races are treated. According to Washington State University, a jury is 3 times more likely to sentence the death penalty for a black defendant versus a white defendant for homologous crimes (Johnson). In fact, it was found that blacks who murdered whites had greater possibility to be convicted of first-degree murder than blacks who killed blacks. Consequently, blacks who murdered whites were more susceptible to receive capital punishment (Johnson). The U.S Government Accountability Office explained "[The] synthesis of the 28 studies shows a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty [after 1970]" and that "race of victim influence was found at
Statistics have shown that only 57% of American say that the death penalty is applied fairly in the country, and 38% of Americans believe that it is not. In the last several years Americans have become slightly more likely to support the capital punishment (Newport 2007). Moreover white Americans tend to associate criminality with people which have different color and they strongly believe that most crimes have perpetrated by racial minorities (Roberts and Stalans 1997).However, for years opponents of the death penalty have argued that members of minority groups, especially African