Capital punishment, better known as the death penalty, has been around for centuries. Like all elements of modern society, the death penalty has evolved over the course of many years. Initially, the death penalty was administered by a royal court or monarchy through brutal stoning. Since then, the guillotine, noose, electric chair, and [currently] lethal injection have all been tools created to administer the death penalty here in the United States. Before the act of actually ending the criminal’s life is performed he or she waits on death row during the course of any court proceedings. In America, death row is the term given to the section of a prison reserved for inmates awaiting trial concerning the death penalty. The term “death row” is figurative. Due to extensive court proceedings, individuals on death row may await trial or sentencing for months or years. There is no way to determine how long an inmate will stay on death row. However, research has shown that extensive periods of time on death row lowers inmates’ mental capacities and capabilities, and deteriorates their physical health at alarming rates. Inmates on death row have no one to comfort them, to care for them, or to visit them. Jack Alderman is the longest serving death row American prisoner with over thirty-three years prior to his execution. In the state of Georgia on September 16, 2008 Alderman was executed by lethal injection. He was convicted for his part in the murder of his wife Barbara Alderman. Although the “U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional” (Swarns 1 of 3), the issue has gone back to trial and reinstated. The death penalty is legal rhetoric that is based on heightened emotions and revenge. The “justice” system that determin...
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Works Cited
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“Death Penalty is violation of human Rights: L:aws are not Meant to Punish Anyone but to Bring Change.” DNA (Daily News and Analysis). 11 Oct. 2009. General OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2011
Lafevere, Patricia. “Group Urges Legislator to Scrap Death Penalty. (Nation)”. National Catholic Reporter 28 Dec. 2001 General OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
Swarns, Christina. “The Uneven Scale of Capital Justice: How Race and Class Affect Who Ends Up on Death Row”. The American Prospect. 15.7 (2004): A14+. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Nov. 2011
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Andre, Claire, and Manuel Velasquez. “Capital Punishment.” Our Duty or Our Doom. 12 May 2010. 30 May 2010 .
Throughout America’s history, capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used to punish criminals for murder and other capital crimes. In the early 20th century, numerous people would gather for public executions. The media described these events gruesome and barbaric (“Infobase Learning”). People began to wonder if the capital punishment was really constitutional.
“Capital Punishment; The Death Penalty.” 6 Jan. 2007. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 4 Apr. 2007. < http://www.religioustolerance.org/execute.htm>.
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"Make Death Penalty Quicker, Cheaper and More Effective." Baltimore Sun. N.p., 09 Jan. 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2014.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
There are wide and divergent opinions on the United States’ Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment. While proponents of capital punishment allege that it can be applied as with the existence of sufficient due process, others contend that human life is irreplaceable and that “every person has the right to have their life respected” (Oppenheim, “Capital Punishment in the United States”). While capital punishment has phased in and out of the United States’ criminal justice system in the past few decades, current trends seem to fall out of favor with the death penalty. As Snell indicates, by yearend of 2011, there were 3,082 inmates held across 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons under the death sentence, where 9 states executed 43 inmates in both 2011 and 2012 (“Capital Punishment, 2011 – Statistical Tables”). In order to gain a deeper understanding and enhanced projection of the death penalty development, it is prudent to first examining historical accounts of cases that have been decided in favor or against the capital punishment in the United States.
In the Time article, “The Death of the Death Penalty”, David Von Drehle addresses the controversial issue of the death penalty. The death penalty in the United States is a declining and flawed method of punishment. The problem of the American death penalty is still an issue in this day and age. Von Drehle compresses the flaws of the death penalty into five simple reasons.
"The Case Against the Death Penalty." American Civil Liberties Union. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation., 2011. Web. 01 Nov. 2014.
When someone is legally convicted of a capital crime, it is possible for their punishment to be execution. The Death Penalty has been a controversial topic for many years. Some believe the act of punishing a criminal by execution is completely inhumane, while others believe it is a necessary practice needed to keep our society safe. In this annotated bibliography, there are six articles that each argue on whether or not the death penalty should be illegalized. Some authors argue that the death penalty should be illegal because it does not act as a deterrent, and it negatively effects the victim’s families. Other scholar’s state that the death penalty should stay legalized because there is an overcrowding in prisons and it saves innocent’s lives. Whether or not the death penalty should be
For instance, the 1972 Furman V. Georgia case abolished the death penalty for four years on the grounds that capital punishment was extensive with racial inequalities (Latzer 21). Over twenty five years later, those inequalities are higher than ever. The statistics says that African Americans are twelve percent of the U.S. population, but are 43 percent of the prisoners on death row. Although blacks make up 50 percent of all murder victims, 83 percent of the victims in death penalty cases are white. Since 1976 only ten executions involved a white defendant who had killed a bl...
Eddlem, T. R. (2004). Ten Anti-Death Penalty Fallacies.The New American. 2002. Web. 10 June 2015.
Rubin, P. H. (2009). Don't scrap the death penalty. Criminology & Public Policy, 8(4), 853-859.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is how the saying goes. Coined by the infamous Hammurabi’s Code around 1700 BC, this ancient expression has become the basis of a great political debate over the past several decades – the death penalty. While the conflict can be whittled down to a matter of morals, a more pragmatic approach shows defendable points that are far more evidence backed. Supporters of the death penalty advocate that it deters crime, provides closure, and is a just punishment for those who choose to take a human life. Those against the death penalty argue that execution is a betrayal of basic human rights, an ineffective crime deterrent, an economically wasteful option, and an outdated method. The debate has experienced varying levels of attention over the years, but has always kept in the eye of the public. While many still advocate for the continued use of capital punishment, the process is not the most cost effective, efficient, consistent, or up-to-date means of punishment that America could be using today.