...Death Penalty and Politics Research Paper Danica Misic The Death Penalty and Politics Introduction The death penalty seems like a dreadful phrase at first glance, especially for those who are facing it. People convicted and sentenced to the death penalty usually have a long wait ahead of them. Some of these people facing the death penalty are looking forward to their execution, and some are dreading it. What exactly is the death penalty? To some it may be freedom once carried out, and to others it is retribution, a political tool, a means for producing money, or a deterrent for future crimes. It is important that the United States come to some conclusion so we can end the death penalty debate; we want the truth, not assumptions that can be argued to no end. This paper will discuss the ins and outs of the death penalty, why it has created much debate, why it is not a deterrent of murder, and that it is mostly used as a political tool. There have been many studies done to both effects; the death penalty deters crime, or it does not deter crime because the previous studies were flawed. First presented is a brief history to better understand where the death penalty comes from. The next section will discuss the modern approaches to the death penalty including landmark cases that changed the way the death penalty is executed in the United States. Following this section is an explanation of deterrence and its effects, and other controversies that exist. Finally...
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...Running head: FIGHTING FOR DEAR LIFE: AN ETHICAL CASE STUDY ON Fighting for Dear Life: An Ethical Case Study on Terri Schiavo Catherine Grace Bautista Adventist University of Health Sciences Ethical and Legal Issues in Healthcare HTCA543 Dr. Stanley Dobias February 24, 2015 1 FIGHTING FOR DEAR LIFE: AN ETHICAL CASE STUDY ON 2 Introduction Death is inevitable. However, for some of us, we fail to express our final wishes to our loved ones and this more often than not ends in conflict. In the United States, it is necessary for an individual to have a living will since this provides answers to end of life issues that would be in question. The story of Terri Schiavo was a case study worthy of note given that concerns or conflicts about end of life care have never been a source of familial dispute in my native country, the Philippines. Her 15-year saga brought about several questions that correspond to moral, ethical, and legal issues. Terri Schiavo’s end of life issue has now set a treacherous precedent for all vulnerable Americans, especially those who are in the marginalized sector: the disabled, those who have terminal illnesses, those who can no longer speak for themselves, and perhaps one day even to those who are indigent and unable to pay for costly health care. These individuals may become gradually compelled to make the choice to die and “get out of the way” notwithstanding their true wishes. Early Years Therese Marie Schindler was born...
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...The Death Penalty The death penalty is a just and proper punishment Today, one of the most debated issues in the criminal justice system is the issue of capital punishment or the death penalty. Capital punishment was legal until 1972, when the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in Furman v. Georgia stating that it violated the Eight and Fourteen Amendments citing cruel and unusual punishment. However, in 1976, the Supreme Court reversed itself with Gregg v. Georgia and reinstated the death penalty, but not all states have the death penalty. There are currently 35 states with the death penalty and 15 states that do not have it. When the word death penalty is used, it stirs up a lot of debates from both the people that agree versus the ones that do not. One side may say it acts as deterrence from others to not commit crimes, while the other side may say, but it may take the life of an innocent man. Federal, state, and local officials need to recognize that the death penalty saves lives. How capital punishment affects murder rates can be explained through general deterrence theory, which supposes that increasing the risk of apprehension and punishment for crime deters individuals from committing crime. Nobel laureate Gary S. Becker's seminal 1968 study of the economics of crime assumed that individuals respond to the costs and benefits of committing crime. According to deterrence theory, criminals are no different from law-abiding people. Criminals "rationally...
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...thirty-two states have death penalty statutes. Of those thirty-two, only seven states carried out executions in 2014 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). Those executions total 35 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). As a result of the low number of executions carried out, experts in the United States have examined the efficiency of the death penalty. To accurately assess the economic costs of the death penalty, the difference between the costs...
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...Whitehead 1 A Moratorium on The Death Penalty Should Be Enacted In Illinois Due to the recent releases of newly exonerated Death Row inmates, individuals and organizations are calling for a moratorium- a cooling off period for state executions. The cases of just a few inmates makes it apparent that this would be a necessary step to save innocent lives. After 17 years in prison, Illinois Death Row inmate Anthony Porter was released from jail after a judge threw out his murder conviction following the introduction of new evidence. This reversal of fortune came just two days before Porter was to be executed. As reported in USA Today, Porter's release was the result of investigative research as conducted by a Northwestern University professor and students. The evidence gathered suggested that Porter had been wrongly convicted. Were these new revelations and the subsequent release of Porter a lucky break or a freak occurrence? Not likely, reports DeWayne Wickham, also of USA Today. He points out that since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, of those sentenced to death, 490 people have been executed while 76 have been freed from Death Row. This calculates into one innocent person being released from Death Row for every six individuals that were executed. This figure correlates with the 1996 U.S. Department of Justice report that indicates that over a 7-year period, beginning in 1989, when DNA evidence in various cases was tested, 26% of primary suspects...
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...Death Penalty Debate Why is the death penalty still allowed throughout much of the U.S.? The process of prosecuting and convicting an individual is astronomical, and there is great debate as to whether the death penalty actually works as a deterrent. Retribution and biasness have contributed too many that have received this sentence, considering all this, life imprisonment is best for all, realistically, and most effective. The advantages of life imprisonment far more outweigh the death sentence Death Penalty America has always had a history of using the death penalty, but no subject has received greater debate. There are many reasons why the death penalty should not be used in America, first there is not data that shows that the death penalty acts as deterrence, second the costs of imposing the death penalty is astronomical, third, many see the death penalty as a form of retribution, and finally, the extensive appeals through the court. Although, it has since been reversed, Furman v. Georgia has shown that there are many cases in which there is a question as to how the death penalty is imposed, and can be considered Cruel and Unusual. (NAKELL, 1978) Many believe that the death penalty is a deterrence, however many studies on deterrence and the death penalty do not support this idea, in fact the murder rates in states that do not have the death penalty is consistently lower than in the states with the death penalty. Studies have also shown that of the 16,503 homicides...
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...Understanding Morality Topic: Death Penalty 1. General theory overview Utilitarianism will check the outcome that results from punishing the criminals and whether it is the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory of social contract is supported by Hobbes. He argues that the state of nature is “the life of man would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” His solution is to come together and agree to a social contract, whose aim is to protect people from harm by others as well as to guarantee all the parties can keep the agreement. Kant says we need to act out of duty of moral rule. When we treat criminals, the only reason to be regarded as praiseworthy must be nothing else than the crime itself. Then we should consider the 1st form of categorical imperatives, which says “act only on the maxim that you can will as a universal law”. Next, we must take the 2nd categorical imperatives into account. It says “always treat humanity whether in your own person or in that of another, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”. On the retributivist view, legal punishment is justified as a means of making those who are responsible for a crime or harm pay for it. According to the retributivist view, payment must to be made in some way that is equivalent to the crime or harm done. There are two arguments, proportional equivalency and egalitarian equivalency. For proportional equivalency, one is required to pay back something proportional...
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...also known as the death penalty, can be defined as "the premeditated and planned taking of a human life by a government in response to a crime committed by that legally convicted person" (White). The death penalty is executed in many countries whether they are developed, developing or underdeveloped nations. Many different types of execution are used around the world. The most common forms would be lethal injections, electric chairs, and gas chambers. In many countries execution by shooting, stoning, hanging or beheading are still used. One can argue that capital punishment has positive impacts, although statistics, research and professional studies show serious flaws. By using a system that values retribution over rehabilitation, men, women, and even children, are all put at risk of facing execution whether they are truly proven guilty or wrongfully convicted. The death penalty is unjustified because it is fundamentally immoral, ineffective in preventing crime, and sometimes mistakenly used to punish innocent people. The possibility of execution of an innocent citizen is reason enough for capital punishment to be considered an injustice. Since 1973, over 140 people in America have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated from death row due to the evidence of their wrongful conviction. (Amnesty International) “We all make mistakes” is a phrase often used and demonstrated through human behaviour. However, this mistake or error is very dangerous in the case of capital punishment...
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...the list of states that have abolished capital punishment. Capital punishment should be abolished in the state of California because too many innocent people have been executed, it cost too much money, it does not act as a deterrent to crimes, and life without parole is a more practical option than capital punishment. There are too many flaws in the capital punishment system and many of them lead to innocent people being executed. According to John W. Whitehead in his article “The Death Penalty Should be Abolished”, “In a Columbia University study on 5,760 capital cases, the report found an overall rate of error of 68 percent. In other words, courts found serious reversible errors in nearly 7 out of 10 capital cases.”(1). If one innocent person was executed that would be one to many, but the fact that there is an error rate of 68 percent is unacceptable. The most infuriating thing however, is that these innocent people are being executed because the law enforcement are cutting corners and not doing their jobs right. In Juan Roberto Meléndez-Colón’s article “DNA Testing Cannot Solve Fundamental Flaws in the Capital Punishment System” he explains the evidence that was used against him in his case, “I was convicted and sentenced to death based on the testimony of two questionable...
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...DIAGNOSED RESEARCH PROJECT A PROSPECTIVE STUDY MARCH 2008 FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EXTENSION DIVINE WORD UNIVERSITY Page | 3 Contents Title Page… ………………………………………………………………………………...........……….3 Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………...4 Map of West Sepik Province……………………………………………………………………………….5 Lateral View of the study site……………………………………………………………………………....6 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………....7 Glossary and Abbreviations………………………………………………………………….......................8 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………....9 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………….10-11 Background……………………………………………………………………………….….....................11 Provincial & District Profile…………………………………………...........................................11 Aims and Objectives of the study…………………………………………………………………………12 Methods and Materials………………………………………………………………………………...12-13 Study population and sites…………………………………………………………......................12 Data collection tools……………………………………………………………………………....12 Verbal interview questionnaires…………………………………………………………………..13 Results……………………………………………………………………………………….................14-17 Figure 1-Simple & Treatment Failure malaria cases in table…………………………………….14 Figure 2- Severe Malaria & Deaths arising from in tables……………………………………….14 Figure 3-Line graph showing simple malaria cases, 2001 to 2007……………….........................15 Figure 4-Line graph showing Treatment Failure cases, 2001 to 2007………………………..15-16 Figure...
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...decades people have debated the death penalty. These discussions have taken place at the water cooler in the workplace as well as at family dinners. Some people see it as a barbaric form of torture, and others see it as a necessity of modern life. Most people do not understand the complex issues that heads of states need to evaluate regarding the death penalty. In conference rooms they discuss issues such as costs, wrongful convictions and what they could do with the additional revenues. Even though some people see the death penalty as a crime deterrent, in this economy individual states have to rethink the financial costs involved. Many people do not realize the additional costs associated with a death penalty case. People who are in support of the death penalty believe that it is cheaper to execute a criminal than to leave them in a jail cell paid for with the money individual's pay to the government in taxes. California is second to Texas in regard to juries and county prosecutors condemning people with a death sentence. (Tempest, 2005) What they do not realize is that at times it can take more than two decades for a death sentence to come to the conclusion of an execution. The trial alone in a death penalty case can cost millions more to prosecute. A study in Maryland estimates that the average cost to taxpayers for reaching a single death sentence is $3 million - $1.9 million more than the cost of a non-death penalty case. (Roman, J., Chalfin, A., Sundquist...
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...centuries, the first known case of the death penalty in the American colonies happened in the James town colony in 1608 when George Kendall was executed for spying for the Spanish (Green, Melissa S.,compiler. (1998-2009). Focus on the Death Penalty). Capital Punishment is a subject in the United States that was and still is very controversial. Many people want capital punishment to be abolished but on the other hand there are a handful of people who want capital punishment to end. The purpose of this study is to show why capital punishment should be abolished. Capital punishment needs to be abolished because there are way too many cases and executions. During the time span of the Revolutionary war, capital punishment was widely accepted. During this time 162 documented cases of capital punishment were recorded. In the nineteenth century, following that era, capital punishment had increased to 1,391 documented cases. As of April 1, 2008, there were a total of 1,099 people who received the death penalty. The State of Texas had the most cases of capital punishment with a number of 405 cases (Bureau of Justice Statistics 1-2). That is way too many cases just for one state. The States of New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Kansas recorded zero cases of capital punishment. In today’s society, 38 out of the 50 states in the United States accept the capital punishment idea. In the year 2010, over 3000 people convicted of crimes were sentenced to the death penalty (Bureau of Justice...
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...12:30-1:50 Mr. Chris Anderson Death Penalty Death penalty is one of the rules mankind practiced it for long times since the early ages of men there has been the death penalty in one way or another. The death penalty has created a lot of argument between people. In the United States the use of capital punishment was famous in the early 1950s executing nearly 100per year. After the 50s supporter started to weaken and in time it went down and came up. In any issue some people will go for it, some will not. In this case of death penalty some people believe that if you take a life you are a menace to society and should be banished from this earth. On the other hand some believe that life is valuable and no one is applicable to take a life other than the creator of life. The critics of the death penalty say practicing these activities such as the death penalty give respect and harmony to murders who take life by force. After all we are humans and our minds are the mother of different ideas, views and arguments. Is the death penalty just? Pro Supporters say there is no better punishment for a person who takes a life other than the death penalty. Majority of supporters of death penalty relied on Holy Scriptures which most of them state that a human life is worth a human life. that is the right justice. It’s cruel and inhuman practice but the person that commits the murder didn’t think about it when he/she were in charge of somebody’s life. Supporters argue he who commits...
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...For decades the death penalty has been an emotional and almost unmentionable issue that has affected people in many different ways. Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent person; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Regardless of people’s philosophic points of view, it is important to be aware of the facts. This is exactly what I would like to talk about in this essay: the facts regarding this controversial issue. I do not have the answer to this question; I believe both viewpoints have good arguments. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion in this or any other matter, but no one is entitled to his own facts. What is the death penalty? Congress or any state legislature may prescribe the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, for murder and other capital crimes. (Death Penalty: An Overview, 2010) As far back as the Ancient Laws of China, the death penalty has been established as a punishment for crimes. In the 18th Century BC, the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon established the death penalty for twenty five different crimes, although murder was not one of them. The first death sentence historically recorded occurred in 16th Century BC Egypt where the wrongdoer, a member of nobility, was accused of magic, and ordered to take his own life. During this period...
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...Punishment Against 1211733 SouJin Park 1215202 EunJeong Lee 1115526 SeoHyun Nam 0711726 JooHa Cha Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Different Aspects on Death Penalty 3 2.1.0 Political Aspect: Wrong Conviction 4 2.1.1 Torture Used to Innocents 4 2.1.2 Amateur Attorney 5 2.2.0 Economical Aspect: High Cost Of Death Row 5 2.2.1 Plea Bargaining 6 2.2.2 Motions 6 2.2.3 Court Time 7 2.2.4 Lawyer 7 2.2.5 Investigators and Expert Testimony 8 2.2.6 Opportunity Cost. 8 2.2.7 Cost-effectiveness. 9 2.3.0 Social Aspect # 2.3.1.0 Deterrent Effect # 2.3.1.1 Ineffectiveness # 2.3.1.2 Counteract as an Incitement # 2.3.1.3 Lack of Viability # 2.3.2 Discrimination # 2.3.2 Overcrowding Problems # 2.4.0 Ethical Aspect # 2.4.1.0 Human Rights # 2.4.1.1 The Universal Declaration # 2.4.1.2 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights # 2.4.2 Rights of Criminal’s Family # 2.4.3 The Pain of Capital Death # 3.0 Alternative Solutions # 3.1 Life Imprisonment # 3.2 Rehabilitation or Reformatories # 3.3.0 Cases of Sex Offenders # 3.3.1 Use of GPS Device # 3.3.2 Revelation of Identities # 3.3.3 Chemical Castration # Appendix # Reference # 1.0 Introduction On September 21, 2011, Alireza Molla-Soltani was hanged to death after stabbing Iran’s most well-known athlete. Alireza was only 17 years-old at the time he was executed. Hassiba Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director, quote “The fact...
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