Death Penalty Survey

1549 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of the death penalty

Death Penalty Survey

It's my belief that people often lack enough information to have an informed opinion, but go ahead and give their opinions anyway. Given the time, money and desire to complete this survey again I'd change my approach. I'd attempt to educate them more on the subject by providing them some detailed information such as factual statistics on both the pros and cons of the death penalty. Thus providing them with a broader background relating to the subject. I feel that by providing factual statistics and historical data that it would greatly add to the validity of the survey.

Of the many questions available to base my survey on, I chose "Are you in favor of the death penalty?". With this question I interviewed twenty-four people. I had to get their name, age, race, sex, marital status, birthplace, religion, and of course the answer to the question. Then with the results of the survey I wrote this composition.

Two weeks ago my neighbor received an unfortunate phone call that his sister had been killed in a car crash. While traveling at a high rate of speed, three underage boys had broad-sided her as they proceeded through a red traffic light at eighty-five mile per hour. The boys had previously stolen the car and were being chased by the police. Besides my neighbor's sister, the front passenger in the stolen car was also killed. The driver and another passenger were only slightly injured.

Initially my neighbor's father was not going to take any legal action against the boys or their families. That was until he found out there was both alcohol and a high-powered rifle in their vehicle. The driver of the car now faces two counts of murder as well as the death penalty.

This event forced me to reflec...

... middle of paper ...

...led I'd have to say "yes", but if it were someone else's "no"." Also two people surveyed were my neighbor and his wife. The neighbor whose sister was killed in the previously mentioned car crash. Without hesitation, they both responded with immediate "yes" answers. My immediate thoughts on their response was I wonder what their answer would have been prior to the accident. These two examples both support the fact that emotions really may play a part in our decision making process.

In conclusion of this survey, I was not surprised at all by the outcome because I knew that it was going to come out this way. Doing this survey was a fun and interesting experience. It gave me an opportunity to speak with some people I haven't spoken to in a long time. It also provided me the opportunity to reflect on my decision on the question, "Am I in favor of the death penalty?"

Show More
Related

  • Carlos Deluna Death Penalty Essay

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carlos Deluna was an American man who was convicted of first degree murder. Carlos was executed by the state of Texas for the killing of a 24 year old woman at the Shamrock gas station. The victim Wanda Lopez was stabbed multiple times apparently from a buck knife. Wanda Lopez was the attendant of the gas station and the police was senseless and oblivious to the tape at the gas station and only saw when she was giving the murderer the money yelling “You want it? I’ll give it to you. I’m not going to do nothing to you. Please!!!” There were only four eyewitnesses that was nearby when Wanda Lopez was murdered.

    Read More

  • Relating the Story of Two Ottawa Valley Teens in Conflict with the Law to Different Sociological Theories

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    The article being discussed is one about two Ottawa valley teens who stole three different cars, while being chased by police and then finally arrested. There was one male youth sixteen years of age accompanied by a female who was thirteen years of age. The chase started in the Ottawa valley and concluded near the border of maine on the united states side. police first started there pursite in Ontario and then found the first stolen car abandoned in sherbrok quebec. Main police then stated the the two teenagers stole a second vehical and attempted to enter the united states through coburn gore maine. A “wild chase” then began and police fired shots at the stolen vehicale. The pruisute was said to have reached 160 kilomtetres per hour or more by police. Border patrol said they chased the teens and the hijack car down route 27. During the chase the a border patrol vehical colieded with the stolen vehical in Stratton, maine. Despite the collision the car continued on while shots were being fired towards kingsfield, maine. The second car was then abandoned on depot street in kingsfield. The to teens then ran and found a pick up truck to continu...

    Read More

  • The Fall of the Potato: Causes of the Great Famine

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several circumstances to take into consideration when looking at the causes of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland. Due to the great dependence the Irish people had on the potato, it is clear how blight could devastate a country and its people. To understand the Irish people's dependence on the potato for diet, income, and a way out of poverty, it is necessary to look at several key factors that were evident before the famine. Factors such farming as the only way of life, rise in population, and limited crops explain why the people of Ireland relied on the potato. But not only do these reasons clarify why the famine hit the Irish people so hard, other important factors play into effect as well. By looking at the weak relationship between England and Ireland through parliamentary acts and trade laws, it is more evident what the causes of the Great Famine are and why it was so detrimental.

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty in the United States

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    Capital punishment results in the victims family gaining a greater sense of security, making sure the criminal is able to be punished to the highest degree for his crime, and honoring retribution. The issue of capital punishment has created a division

    Read More

  • The Irish Potato Famine

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many Irish peasants were forced to deal with the hardship of the Irish potato famine from about 1845-1850. Said famine wiped out roughly the entire potato crop in Ireland, thus causing much of the Irish population to decrease by about one quarter. The English who did little to help despite their leadership position indirectly fueled the famine. Prior conflicts between the Irish Catholics, and British Protestants continued to make matters worse, until the end of the famine in about 1850. During 1845, the Irish people were plagued by a fungal epidemic in their potato crop. Due to the past cultural conflicts the British government took no action, and this eventually led to the emigration and death of hundreds of Irish Catholics.

    Read More

  • The Irish Potato Famine and the Population and Social Trends through 1700-1850

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Irish Potato Famine was during a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration through 1845-1850. According to the journal, “The Context of Migration: The Example of Ireland in the Nineteenth Century” by James H. Johnson, this caused the population of Ireland to decrease 20-25% and it did not stabilize again until the 1930’s. Although there was a potato crop failure in Europe in the 1840’s, one third of the Irish population was dependent on this crop. This was inevitable due to the sole dependency of the Irish people on home-grown potatoes and the population almost doubling from 1800 - 1840. The journal, “Spaces for Famine: A Comparative Analysis in Ireland and the Highlands in the 1840’s” by Liz Young states that “if the crop was poor or failed, families could not manage and to compare, 50,000 people died when crops failed in 1817-1819.” The Irish people could not sustain could not sustain their diet of potatoes because they had not the means to buy more seed or, indeed, purchase the land on which to grow enough potatoes to feed their rapidly multiplying families for a year. As families increased in size, their excess produce, that previously would have given them a means to purchase livestock etc., was consumed. There were many factors that were involved in this catastrophe. The main causes were environmental conditions, agricultural practices and climate conditions, economic faults, and social and political trends. Social unrest and the history of Irish poverty was the direct cause of the Irish Potato Famine and the sole dependency on the potato crop which inevitably led them to starvation.

    Read More

  • Capital Pusnishment: Crime, Spionange and Treason

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to the death penalty there are many opinions as to why this form of punishment is a good thing. Those opinions include things such as:

    Read More

  • The Controversy Surrounding the Death Penalty

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Great Potato Famine

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    During 1845-1846 events in Ireland would change the lives of many. The Great Potato Famine was a major incident that shocked the entire world. This incident was cause by a disease that traveled from ships overseas. The Great Potato Famine affected one of the biggest crops at the time, which was the potato. Many people got sick from this disease otherwise known as, Phytophthora Infestins. Phytophthora Infestins killed about 1 million people in Ireland.

    Read More

  • The Great Potato Famine

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Potato Famine was a problem that did not only cause starvation and disease but a drop in the economy. Known as the greatest epidemic of the 19th century the Potato Famine will have forever made an impact on Ireland. The Irish were damned from the start with little to no assistance from England with the exception of what they could get for themselves. With laws restricting the grain trade and no regulation on other goods Ireland had no fighting chance to make a turn around. With England living off of the principle “Irish property must pay for Irish poverty” Ireland was in need of outside assistance and that is exactly what many countries came to do.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Potato Famine

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beginning in 1845 and lasting until 1861 the Great Potato Famine of Ireland killed over a million people, and causing another million to leave the country. The famine began in September 1845 as leaves on potatoes suddenly turned black and curled, then rotted. The cause was an airborne fungus (phytophthora infestants) originally transported by ships traveling from North America to England. Many other factors contributed to this devastation.

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).

    Read More

  • Models of Corrections

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    I’m pro for death penalty because I believe that people who go out and are ready to take someone’s live, at that moment they are forfeiting their own right to live. I believe that the death penalty should be used only when the crime is very violent and heinous, but I believe that no individual should go out certain that regardless of how cruel, vicious, or hideous the murder is, they themselves will not suffer the death penalty knowing that their rights will be protected.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Death Penalty

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    When it comes to the topic of capital murder, most of us will readily agree that the murderer must pay the consequences. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question the death penalty being the proper solution. Whereas some are convinced that capital punishment is the needed consequence of first degree murder. Others maintain that this method is not a wise economic solution, and does not deter crime. I tend to agree with these individuals and stand against the death penalty.

    Read More

  • Irish Famine

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Irish Potato Famine was a period of starvation, disease and emigration, and was known as one of the biggest tragedies from 1845 to 1847. Many people depended on potato crops to survive; however [comma] the potato crops acquired blight, a disease that caused the potatoes to rot while still in the ground. No good crops could be grown for two years [comma] causing Irish tenant farmers unable to pay rent and was forced off their land causing over 21,000 people to die of starvation. The Irish Potato Famine caused many people to leave Ireland to seek work overseas in areas such as England and America. The Irish Potato Famine had a big impact on the history and the economy of Ireland.

    Read More

More about Death Penalty Survey

Open Document