Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty
opinion Essay
1148 words
The death penalty is an outdated, costly, discriminating, form of punishment that should be abolished in all states throughout the U.S. Currently, the death penalty is legal in 34 U.S. states. Among those besides the common and heavily expensive lethal injection for killing, states Arizona, Missouri and Wyoming allow gas-chamber executions. Delaware, New Hampshire and Washington state still allow inmates to choose hanging as well as lethal injection. This just shows the barbaric practice of the death penalty and how outdated it is. Besides the discrimination made towards people in cases because of their class or color. Mental health patients are also greatly at risk here in the U.S. Since 1973, 150 people punished with the death penalty were …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty should be abolished in all states throughout the u.s.
- Explains that 150 people punished with the death penalty were later exonerated by the u.s. and others that have been executed despite serious doubts about their guilt.
- Explains that the death penalty was reinstated by the u.s. supreme court in 1976, since december 2014 1,394 people have been executed. capital punishment does not seem to change every criminal’s mind about killing innocent people.
- Explains that the u.s. condemns the practice of murder by committing murder in order to teach the killer a lesson, but what do they learn?
- Recounts how a 14-year-old african-american boy, george stinney, was executed in the u.s. in 1944 for killing two young white girls. he was interrogated and confessed to the crime.
- Opines that the courts don't see anything wrong with stinney's execution in the electric chair.
- Narrates a horrible case in 1989 when an innocent man was punished with the death penalty in texas because the witness in the end said "latinos all look alike, how was i supposed to know they were different men?"
- Explains that mental health and the death penalty are an even more pressing topic because these accused are unfit to be held for their actions and if declared mentally ill are not aware of what they are doing.
- Explains that steven staley was paranoid schizophrenic and killed a hostage in an attempted robbery in 1989. in 2006, prosecutors forced him to take medication to establish his competence.
- Analyzes pope francis' letter to the president of the international commission against the death penalty, about the catholic church's disagreement with the method.
- Explains that bill cosby and his wife didn't want the death penalty because they believed it would not bring anything from it.
- Opines that the lethal lottery should be abolished in all u.s. states, not just to fight murder with murder.
after just a two hour trail with the only real evidence been his “confession.” Stinney was convicted for killing two young white girls because he and his sister and it appeared to be the last person the girls saw. Once the girls were found dead in a ditch they arrested Stinney just a couple hours later. He was interrogated by several white officers in a locked room with no witnesses aside from the officers and within an hour, a deputy announced that Stinney had confessed to the crime. White witnesses suddenly arose testifying to Stinney’s bad character, Stinner’s sister said she was with him that afternoon still after the girls left them but it still did not matter to the police. An all white jury deliberated after the short trail and in 10 minutes sentences Stinney to be executed in the electric chair. In later years the beam discovered that the girls had been killed with weighed over 20 pounds making Stinney unable to left the beam and even if he could he couldn’t swing it hard enough to kill the girls, let alone drag each of their bodies into a ditch. However, the courts don’t see anything wrong with …show more content…
A witness thought it was DeLuna however because he was at the seen and he looks the same. The police knew the whereabouts of another, more likely, suspect. But they didn 't tell the defense this before or after the trial. When the defendant identified the likely killer shortly before trial, the police and prosecutors did not reasonably follow up even though they knew that the man identified was capable of committing the crime. DeLuna was killed and later was exonerated after Hernandez was identified, once he killed again. With mental health and the death penalty is an even more pressing topic because these accused are unfit to be held for their actions and if declared mentally ill are not aware of what they are doing. One of ten people that are killed with capital punishment are deemed mentally
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- Discrimination In The Justice System Essayanalytical essayThe event bought up some disputes in the U.S. legal system and race. Stinney was executed 84 days after the killing of the two girls in March 1944. George Stinney lived in Claredon County, South Carolina, was convicted in a one-day trial of first degree murder of two white girls who were riding their bikes close to Stinney house. The two little girls were Betty Binnicker, 11 years old and Mary Emma Thames 8 years old. “After being arrested, Stinney was said to have confessed to the crime. However, there was no written record of his confession apart from notes provided by an investigating deputy, and no transcript of the brief trial. He had been executed by electric chair” (Bever, 2014). Since, his execution, there have been many questions raised about Stinney guilt, his confession, and the trial processing leading to his
In this essay, the author
- Explains that discrimination is a serious problem in society. discrimination in the united states is debatable because there is evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases.
- Argues that discrimination built on race, gender, religion and ethnic is ethically wrong and a violation of the value of equality.
- Explains that george stinney was the first youngest person to be executed in the united states. he was executed 84 days after the killing of two white girls in march 1944.
- Opines that discrimination will remain an unresolved issue in the united states and it might some years for people to identify the negative influences it brings in our communities.
919 wordsRead More - Confesisonsanalytical essayIn the video “The Confessions” presented by Frontline, a murder of a women that was committed by one man, quickly resulted into a false gang murder-rape scene committed by eight men. The victim, Michelle Bosko, was seen to be raped and killed in her apartment in Norfolk, Virginia. From the video, it has been proven that seven out of the eight men that confessed were innocent, but somehow they all received an unequal punishment. Because the innocent men admitted to a murder that they didn’t commit out of fear, they were all sentenced to some time in prison. The head detective, Glenn Ford, intimidated the men so much that they either were convinced that they were at the crime scene or they told him every detail that he wanted to hear. Years after the murder had been put to rest, the police received a letter from an African American man stating that he killed Michelle himself. Omar Ballard, the actual man who murdered Michelle, did not only admit that he killed Michelle, he admitted the he acted alone. Even after his confession and his DNA matched the crime scene, the Norfolk police d...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the video "the confessions" proves that seven out of the eight men that confessed to a murder were innocent, but somehow they all received unequal punishment.
- Analyzes how the police didn't quickly release the convicts because of their confessions. they kept them because their description of the crime scene was so believable.
- Concludes that the video segment showed the way a person's brain works under pressure is very tricky and they will confess to things that had nothing to do with them.
603 wordsRead More - The Death Penalty is Wrongopinion essayThe death penalty is absolutely outrageous. There is no real reason that the government should feel that it has the right to execute people. Capital punishment is murder just as much as the people being executed murdered. The is no need for the death penalty and it needs to be abolished. It goes against the Constitution which states that there will be no cruel and unusual punishment. There is nothing crueler than killing a person.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the death penalty is outrageous and should be abolished. capital punishment is murder and goes against the constitution.
- Analyzes how the death penalty goes awry in the state of illinois, where thirteen death row inmates were found not guilty of their crimes.
- Explains that without the philosophy of life without parole, inmates who are tried for the death penalty are unfairly tried.
- Explains that minority inmates constitute 83% of those who have thus far been wrongfully convicted. people who murdered white people were more likely to be sentenced to death than people who had murdered african americans.
- Opines that race isn't the only discrimination in the united states. in the 1980s and 1990s, only about 1 percent of all those on death row were women.
- Opines that discrimination is increasingly less if money is a factor. if the murderer was smart enough, the government would most likely reduce that person’s sentence to life without the possibility of parole.
- Explains that the death penalty is administered inconsistently and arbitrarily. wisconsin, iowa, and michigan all get along just fine without the use of capital punishment.
- Explains that a federal judge in vermont has become the second magistrate in two months to say the current national death penalty law is unconstitutional.
- States that richard dieter, the director of the death penalty information center, has said that there is still a great amount of unsettlement, especially after september 11th, about our death penalty.
- Opines that capital punishment offers closure for the victim's family, but for many families, this just isn't true.
- Opines that the government is even more wrong to kill those people instead of forcing them to live day after day in a tiny cell to think about, and hopefully feel remorseful about killing.
- Analyzes how the death penalty is still unfair, according to the chicago tribune.
1067 wordsRead More - George Stinney's Caseanalytical essayIn 1944, 14-year old African American, George Stinney, was wrongfully convicted and executed. According to Murderpedia.org, a digital database containing the collective history of notorious murders, the event took place in Alcolu, South Carolina. Stinney remains the youngest person executed in United States history. Stinney was accused of first-degree murder. He was charged with the murder of 11-year old Betty June Binnicker and 8-year old Mary Emma Thames. Stinney was executed by the formal method of execution at the time, the electric chair. The trial concluded in one day. After Stinney was arrested he was not allowed to see his family until after the trial and conviction concluded. Stinney reportedly confessed to the crime according to the investigating deputy, even though a confession statement by George Stinney never existed. In 2013 Stinney’s descended family petitioned for a retrial. On December 17, 2014, George Stinney’s case
In this essay, the author
- Explains that george stinney, 14, was wrongfully convicted and executed in 1944 in alcolu, south carolina. he was executed by the formal method of execution at the time, the electric chair.
- Explains that stinney's supposed confession was the determining factor during his trial. mary emma and betty binnicker refused to accept his sexual advances.
- Analyzes how george stinney's confession could not have been used in court due to false pretenses.
- Analyzes the uncanny procedure of george stinney's trial. according to a pro-bono legal help website, the typical death penalty case takes anywhere from 6 to 10 years.
- Explains that stinney's defense attorney, deathpenaltyinfo.org, overturned his conviction because of his lack of representation. the defense lawyer did not call any witnesses.
- Analyzes how chappell's famous jury of 12 white men in that trial was a white jury. the preceding fact alone would pretty much guarantee the defendant an erroneous trial.
- Explains that spinney's trial took place in the deep south, where jim crow laws were prevalent and racism was the norm.
- Analyzes how the details surrounding the case don't seem realistic or logical, as george stinney had a frail 5’1 95-pound physique, and it was physically impossible for him to drag and burry the posthumous bodies of those two young girls.
- Analyzes how the judge vacated george stinney's case in 2014, because there was no due process, and dahl reports that amie ruffner states that her brother was a scapegoat
1007 wordsRead More - The Mendez Brothers Trialanalytical essayOn August 20th, 1989 Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents inside their Beverly Hills home with fifteen shot gun blasts after years of alleged “sexual, psychological, and corporal abuse” (Berns 25). According to the author of “Murder as Therapy”, “The defense has done a marvelous job of assisting the brothers in playing up their victim roles” (Goldman 1). Because there was so much evidence piled up against the brothers, the defense team was forced to play to the jurors’ emotions if they wanted a chance at an acquittal. Prosecutor Pamela Bozanich was forced to concede that “Jose and Kitty obviously had terrific flaws-most people do in the course of reminding jurors that the case was about murder, not child abuse” (Adler 103). Bozanich “cast the details of abuse as cool, calculated lies” (Smolowe 48)...
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the menendez brothers' first trial had conflicting ideas between jurors, and the play twelve angry men portrays the modern-day problems with the justice system.
- Analyzes how the defense team played to the jurors' emotions if they wanted a chance at an accquittal.
- Analyzes how some jurors let their emotions get the best of them. the defense worked well enough to produce a hung jury- and nationwide outrage over the abuse excuse.
- Analyzes how the jury came to a verdict after much deliberation. the menendez brothers were convicted of murder in the first degree the second time around.
- Analyzes how juror three's stubbornness and faulty reasoning blinded him from the obvious facts that made the defendant seem innocent. the trial in twelve angry men parallels the menendez brothers' trials.
- Analyzes how juror five in the play would feel differently about coming to a verdict so early on, compared to juror three. since he knows what it was like to constantly have the disadvantage in situations, his personal experiences could allow him to take pity on their situation.
- Analyzes how juror ten from twelve angry men is another juror who would find the brothers guilty. he feels that lyle and erik menendez were spoiled kids who didn't get what they wanted.
- Analyzes how juror eight wants to talk through the trial and sift through all the evidence to infer that he would find the menendez brothers not guilty.
- Concludes that the jurors in the play, twelve angry men, would have had a hard time reaching the verdict for the menendez brothers.
- Describes the contents of the mas ultra - school edition.
- Analyzes how the menendez brothers run out of excuses in newsweek's 127.14. mas ultra - school edition.
1323 wordsRead More - Steven Truscott Case Studyexplanatory essayWhile researching this case I stumbled upon many others and I became aware of how many people have suffered from the injustice of being found guilty. While reading parts of the book “Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death the Story of Steven Truscott” I learned that the police played a large role in why 14-year-old Truscott was found guilty of murder. The book showed that they forced witnesses to change their story to further “prove” Truscott’s guilt of the crime. This led to the conclusion that in this case (like many others) the police were solely and unjustly targeting one
In this essay, the author
- Describes how steven truscott, 14, gave his classmate 12-year-old lynne harper a ride on his bike from their school down to highway 8; the next day, she was strangled, sexually assaulted, and subsequently killed.
- Explains that the evidence used in truscott's conviction was incorrect due to bias police investigation and false testimonies.
- Explains the reopening of the truscott case. after serving 10 years in prison, he was released on parole and went on to be married and have children.
- Opines that although canada's judicial system has been refined since the time of the case, it is still very possible that an innocent man can be presumed guilty.
- Explains that they learned several things from this assignment. they learned that the police played a large role in why 14-year-old steven truscott was found guilty of murder.
- Opines that they learned a great deal about canada's previous laws from the assignment "wrongful convictions." before the case, they knew about the death penalty but did not know when it could be implemented.
1358 wordsRead More - ...lice or lawyers used their integrity. The police skirted around the law and use evidence that the witnesses said was not correct. They had a description of the suspect that did not match Bloodsworth but, they went after him as well. They also used eyewitness testimony that could have been contaminated.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that they have chosen bloodsworth v. state 76 md.app. 23, 543 a.2d 382 case to discuss whether or not the forensic evidence should have been admissible.
- Analyzes how dawn hamilton approached two boys and an adult male to help her find her cousin. the police collected a boot print at the scene and dna in hamilton’s underwear. bloodsworth was convicted on the eye witness testimonies.
- Analyzes how bloodsworth argued that there was not sufficient evidence to tie him to the crime, and that the state suppressed exculpatory evidence.
- Explains that bloodsworth's mother waited three weeks before she told the police what her son supposedly had done. the state also used witnesses that knew him.
- Analyzes how the police got tunnel view when it came to bloodsworth and were going to make the evidence stick one way or another.
- Explains how bloodsworth was exonerated from death row by dna evidence in 1993. the murderer's dna was entered into the national dna database for an unrelated crime.
- Opines that witnesses should not be used as a catch all if the other evidence does not support them. the two witnesses who could not identify bloodsworth at the original line-up recanted their identification.
- Explains how psychologists separate memory into three phases: the acquisition of memory, the retention, and the retrieval of memories.
- Explains that the reliability test of eyewitness evidence was established in manson v. brathwaite in 1977 and allows for the admission of identification evidence based on "unnecessarily suggestive" identification procedures.
- Opines that relying solely on eyewitness identification of strangers is risky, since many things can go wrong even if everything is done correctly.
- Opines that saint leo university's core values are excellence, respect, responsible stewardship and integrity.
- Explains bloodsworth v. state, 76 md. app. 23 (court of special appeals of maryland july 8, 1988).
1944 wordsRead More - The Juvenile Court System is Distinct from Adult Courtsexplanatory essayMichael and Derrick both struck a deal in exchange for implicating Andy as the one who fired the fatal shots. Under Colorado’s felony murder rule, Andy could be found guilty of first-degree murder just for simply participating in a violent felony. Of the three boys, Andy would be the only one to stand trial for first-degree murder, which could carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole. In May 2001, Andy went to trial, after a brief deliberation, the jury found Andy guilty of robbery and murder in the first-degree. Andy has been serving his sentence in a Colorado State Penitentiary, the state’s “supermax” high-security prison for the past 9 ye...
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how michael brown, derrick miller, and andrew medina approached kristopher lohrmeyer and demanded his money and car keys. the three boys confessed to police and named andy as the shooter.
- Explains how michael and derrick struck a deal in exchange for implicating andy as the one who fired the fatal shots. under colorado's felony murder rule, andy could be found guilty of first-degree murder.
- Explains the history of the juvenile justice system in the progressive era, which was characterized by large waves of immigration and an increase in children leaving the streets.
- States that the illinois juvenile court act of 1899 established the first juvenile court system in the united states.
- Explains that in the 1960s and 1970s the u.s. supreme court issued several rulings that significantly changed the juvenile justice system. kent v. united states extended constitutional due process rights to juveniles.
- Explains how juveniles' legal rights are different from those of criminal courts. the supreme court argued that a jury trial was not required for children in juvenile court cases due to their adversarial nature and conflict with rehabilitative intentions.
- Explains that juveniles can be transferred to criminal courts in three ways: judicial waiver, statutory exclusion, and direct file.
- Explains that juveniles who are transferred to juvenile courts face a variety of developmental and physical problems. adult facilities lack the developmental, behavioral, and educational resources to provide appropriate treatment.
- Describes bishop, donna m., and others. the transfer of juveniles to criminal court: does it make a difference?
- Analyzes cohen, lawrence e, and kluegel's study of the impact of social characteristics and legal factors on the detention decision.
- Cites gebo, erika, "a family affair: the juvenile court and family violence cases."
- Opines that when is it efficient to treat juveniles more leniently than adult offenders?
- Explains soulier, matthew f., and charles, scott l.
1944 wordsRead More - Comparing The Crime Control Model And The Due Process Modelanalytical essayDetermining which model of criminal justice best explains how this case was handled presents an interesting challenge and requires close examination. Bohm and Haley (2014) state there is no "innocent until proven guilty" thought process with the crime control model. Additionally, the model seeks to efficiently resolve cases quickly which requires …"cases be handled informally..." (Bohm et al., 2014). Conversely, "[T]he due process model is based on the doctrine of legal guilt and the presumption of innocence" (Bohm et al., 2014, p. 15). I see a combination of both models, the crime control model and the due process model, competing with each other, oftentimes within the same group of people.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the crime control model and the due process model are competing with each other, often within the same group of people.
- Analyzes how the state attorney viewed the case from the police and prosecution side, stating that the investigating officer wanted to pursue criminal charges against zimmerman.
- Opines that the crime control model is consistent with the due process model, which calls for the case to be tried publicly, thus dismissing the original decision of the state attorney to not seek criminal charges.
- Explains that zimmerman was tried publicly and exonerated. although he was factually guilty, extenuating circumstances made him not legally guilty of the crime of second degree murder.
410 wordsRead More - What Are The Causes Of Alcoho's Crimesanalytical essayA seven year old girl was found half-naked, with over 20 stab wounds, behind a washroom. Three men were brought into questioning after a witness claims that the three men were seen drinking at the time of the murder. At the station, police finally got answers after one of the three men broke down, confessing that he killed the girl, while another admitted to raping her. The man who admitted to stabbing the girl added that he had no memory of raping her but realized that he had, in fact, stabbed her to death. He claims that he was high on shabu and had been drinking for the past three days.
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how a seven-year-old girl was found half-naked, with over 20 stab wounds, behind the washroom. three men were brought into questioning after witness claims that they were seen drinking at the time of the murder.
- Opines that the three men had brutally stabbed a seven-year-old girl to death before raping her. they had the audacity to dump her body in the restroom like she was meat.
- Analyzes how alcohol and drugs can influence one to do irrational and irresponsible things. one of the three men could not even recall the crime that he committed due to his high and drunken state.
- Argues that ities should charge them with exemplary punishments for the crime they committed and offer help for their addiction by sending them to rehab or seeing a therapist.
292 wordsRead More