...prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment". There was no majority opinion, and each of the five majority members wrote a separate opinion. While three of them based their decision on the arbitrary and discriminatory application of the death penalty in the U.S., Justices Brennan and Marshall based their opinions on the per-se unconstitutionality of capital punishment. Justice Brennan argued that although human dignity is not explicitly guaranteed by the United States Constitution, it is the fundamental concept underlying the Eighth Amendment. In his opinion: "The State, even as it punishes, must treat its members with respect for their intrinsic worth as human beings. A punishment is "cruel and unusual, therefore, "if it does not comport with human dignity". He declared that the severity of capital punishment is degrading to the dignity of a man, and since even the vilest criminals share an inherent dignity, the punishment is unconstitutional. Though in Brennan words human dignity functions as a justification for the Eight Amendment, they seem to illustrate the psychological approach to the meaning of human dignity. In 1976, the nationwide ban that was imposed on the capital punishment was over turned in Gregg v. Georgia. Gregg was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death in Georgia. He appealed to the Supreme Court on the basis of its decision in Furman. The State of Georgia demonstrated that it had worked to formulate its capital punishment laws consistent...
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...Death Penalty The Death penalty is one of the most controversial and debatable questions in the history of criminal justice. The main problem is that the death penalty is irrevocable so a wrong decision can lead to a terrible mistake and injustice towards an innocent person. “On the other hand, the death penalty is the only possible measure to punish criminals and protect our society from cruelty and repeat crimes” (Coyne and Entzeroth 72). Objectively speaking, plausible moral arguments can be made both for and against capital punishment. A key element of the debate, moral arguments have tended to remain fairly static over the years, and often have been used in conjunction with religious arguments. Two moral arguments have remained particularly important throughout the death penalty debate: retribution and the sanctity of life. Argument: Death penalty is a crucial punishment which violates human and constitutional rights of people, thus it is the only possible measure to protect society from violence and repeat crimes. Those favoring the death penalty often argue that society must express moral outrage at -- and condemnation of -- heinous crimes such as murder. Proponents of death penalty typically consider deterrence to be one of its fundamental goals. “The execution sermons of the early colonies were full of warnings against following in the footsteps of the condemned, and executions were public events designed to instill fear and reverence for the law in the people of...
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...Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is not the best financial option available today. The death penalty has been a constant source of debate for as long as it has been imposed. Most of the debates focus on constitutionality, morality, religion, and racism. Focusing on the financial burden on carrying out the death penalty can help to eliminate all of the other debates. In the United States of America 36 states and the federal government still use the death penalty. Those people that oppose the death penalty say that it violates the "cruel and unusual punishment" provision of the Eighth Amendment. The Supreme Court has repeatedly agreed and continues to rule that the death penalty is constitutional only if applied in a particular way. That ruling makes sure that congress and state legislatures are always at work to enact new capital punishment laws to try to ensure that the executions are not "cruel and unusual". Due to these laws all convicted prisoners sentenced to the death penalty undergo more expensive trials and appeals than someone sentenced to life without parole. The morality of killing a person is subjective for each individual. A person’s upbringing, education, beliefs, and religion all affect their moral beliefs. Therefore different people interpret what is moral differently. Also, throughout the life of an individual, their beliefs and morality can and most likely will change. Considering these facts and...
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...Controversy over the eighth amendment has been a major topic of debate for many years across the United States. The eighth amendment reads, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Cornell University Law School). Under the eighth amendment is the clause that focuses on the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment, which is one of the most controversial clauses of the United Stated Constitution in today’s debates. There are those who advocate for the death penalty and those who oppose it, arguing that it constitutes as cruel and unusual punishment. With that being said, this paper will discuss the constitutionality of the death penalty. Controversy over the death penalty in the U.S. Supreme Court can be traced back to 1879 with Wilkerson v. Utah, which stated that the Utah territorial statue of execution by firing squad was not cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment of the U.S. constitution. (Wikipedia: Wilkerson v. Utah) In 1972, the United States Supreme Court struck down capital punishment, reducing all death...
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...In 1998, Daryl Atkins was sentenced by a jury to death on account of capital murder charges as well as armed robbery and abduction. In response, Atkins appealed the ruling of the trial court on the ground that sentencing a mentally retarded criminal to death was a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. Prior to Atkins, in 1989, merely 13 years earlier, the United States Supreme Court ruled the Eighth Amendment does not categorically prohibit the execution of mentally retarded capital murderers in the case Penry v Lynaugh (“Penry v Lynaugh”). The verdict of this case gave state legislatures the ability to decide whether to adopt the death penalty or not, however, the United States Supreme Court limited the states' ability to execute. States are prohibited from executing minors and the insane; for reason that, these defendants' diminished capacity for reasoned judgment limits their culpability. Yet, the Supreme Court case, Atkins v Virginia, challenged the constitutionality in executing the mentally retarded, ultimately revisiting the limitation verdict of Penry v Lynaugh. The legal...
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...THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE DEATH PENALTY The Supreme Court of the United States has the authority to decide whether state statutes conflict with the provisions of the Constitution and the Court’s prior interpretations of those provisions. This power of judicial review has given the Supreme Court the crucial responsibility to assure individual rights, as well as to maintain a “living Constitution” whose broad provisions are continually reviewed and applied to complicated new situations. Since Justices are appointed for life, when the Supreme Court rules on an issue involving the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, that judgment is final unless altered by a constitutional amendment or the Court’s subsequent ruling (Booklet). The Court decides whether specific state statutes are applied rightly or whether a person’s Constitutional rights have been violated. The Constitutionality of the death penalty in the United States has been decided by the Justices of the Supreme Court based on cases appealed from different states. The people who founded the United States came from England and European countries where there had always been a death penalty. This does not mean there are no reasons for states to abolish the death penalty; just that it is currently legal for the states to have this punishment. The present controversy started when the Supreme Court decided in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), that imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in the...
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...Joseph-Anthony Roberto January 26, 2012 Criminology-BHS 142 Capital Punishment I believe Capital Punishment to be one of the most important environmental forces currently impacting the United States Criminal Justice System in a negative way. Capital Punishment is defined as the lawful infliction of death as a punishment, Commonly known as the Death Penalty. The first known infliction of the death penalty occurred in the American colonies the year of 1608, The victim being Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown Colony. Throughout history the death penalty has been known to be carried out by one of five lawful means; Hanging, Gas Chambers, Firing Squad, Lethal Injection, and Electrocution. In the eighteenth century 162 documented executions took place, Followed by 1,391 executions in the nineteenth century. Towards the end of the Revolutionary War, 11 Colonies wrote new constitutions allowing Capital Punishment. Ironically, nine out of those eleven colonies did not allow “Cruel and Unusual Punishment.” The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from inflicting "cruel and unusual punishments." The uncertainty of the phrase "cruel and unusual." cause controversy's over the constitutionality of the death penalty. Some argue that the phrase "cruel and unusual" refers to the type of punishment inflicted, others feel that the phrase refers to the degree and duration of the punishment. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected both interpretations, leaving...
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...The use of capital punishment in America stems from Britain influence and began early on in the settlement of the European colonies. The earliest recorded execution dates back to 1608 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011) . However, the use of capital punishment in the United States centuries later has been very controversial. Thirty-four states still use the death penalty as a punishment while 16 states have abolished its use (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011) . The constitutionality of capital punishment is in question and is constantly interpreted. The death penalty requires arbitrary decisions to be made by jurors. The studies on race in death penalty cases, the exonerations of those individuals on death row, and the cost of the death penalty are reasons to abolish capital punishment in the United States. Recent studies on the death penalty show surprising facts about the race of defendant and victim. In North Carolina it was found that the odds of receiving the death penalty rose by 3.5 for defendants whose victims were white. A California study found that defendants who murdered Whites were three times more likely to receive the death penalty than those who murdered Blacks and four times more likely than those who murdered Latinos. Race-of-victim and race-of-defendant discrimination has been found in 96 percent of the states in which death penalty and race studies have taken place (Death Penalty Information Center, 2011) . The exonerations of those on death row...
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...with this statement because criminals do not think of the consequences of their actions when they are committing a crime, nor do they care. Amnesty International, which opposes the death penalty, reports that scientific studies have not produced any conclusive evidence showing that capital punishment is a deterrent for future crimes to be committed. I believe the only deterrent for a murderer to not commit a crime again would be execution. Various people who are opposed to the death penalty say that capital punishment condemns the innocent to die. According Amendment V in the United States Bill of Rights, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital crime, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment of an indictment of a grand jury” (except in military cases). While it is true that a few innocent people have “slipped through the cracks” of the justice system and been convicted and executed unfairly, it is extremely rare that this type of situation would happen. By the time that all appeals are exhausted, it is most likely that the attorneys will find new evidence to support alleged criminal’s innocence from examining the case so many times. Its adversaries have called capital punishment cruel and unusual, but I disagree. According Amendment V in the United States Bill of Rights, “No...
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...later, the first of three attempts of 1,900 volts of electricity were sent accelerating through John Evans's body. The final excruciating jolt boiled his brain and extremities in a horrifying manner, causing the nauseating stench of burnt flesh to quickly pervade the open air. John Evans's execution, which should have been only 30 seconds, lasted 14 minutes long. Whenever the phrase “death penalty” is brought up, two sides of extremists are riled up shouting for either approval or forbearance; thus creating a whirlpool of dissent and provocation. Many critics of this controversial issue may state that the moral aspects are inhumane and that the use should be discontinued from the United States; however, the crimes deemed worthy of capital punishment should not and cannot be overlooked simply because of a certain belief. The implementation of the death penalty should remain in practice to prevent heinous crimes and victimization of the innocent. Sometimes the “chair” truly is the best seat in the house. The supreme court case of Alabama vs John Louis Evans of 1977 shifted the viewpoint as to how the United States would approach the sensitive issue of the death penalty. John Evans was the first inmate to be executed by the state of Alabama after the United States re-instituted the death penalty in 1976 (Blanco). Over the course of two months, Evans and his accomplice participated in a crime spree involving in over thirty robberies, extortion schemes, and several kidnappings...
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...accused to a punishment is important. Some criminals commit a crime because they have no other option, some do it for fun and for their own benefit. I do not approve of the death penalty for everybody. A person who stole from a store, is definitely not a deserving person for the death penalty, But, a serial killer, who kills people just because he wants to, definitely deserves to be removed from society. The death penalty should be pursued in the United States in order to eliminate horrible people from the world. Not everyone deserves to die, but some people do. If someone killed one of your family members or someone who meant the world to you, do you think they deserve to live? The 5 different forms of execution in the united states are Lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad, and hanging. Lethal injection is the most common. A lot of people see both sides of the death penalty and some people are unsure on how they think about it. Many people support the death penalty, while others wish for the death penalty to be abolished,...
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...statue that held she that she was of sound mind and body because “a person engaged in a common design with others to rob by force and violence…is presumed to acquiesce [with whatever actions result]” (State v. Palfy). Lockett debated that she was being convicted unconstitutionally due to the fact that her mitigating factors were not considered and that failure to do so would violate her Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment rights and was unconstitutional. Fortunately for Lockett, the Court voted 7 to 1 in her favor. On July 3rd 1978, the holding of Lockett v. Ohio was established. The holding of the case stated that due to the death penalty’s severity and the fact that requires a much high level of reliability than other types of punishments, statues that limit mitigating evidence violate the Eighth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment and are therefore...
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...At 9:18 a.m. on March 2, 1998, petitioner called 911 to report that his stepdaughter, referred to here as L. H., had been raped. He told the 911 operator that L. H. had been in the garage while he readied his son for school. Upon hearing loud screaming, petitioner said, he ran outside and found L. H. in the side yard. Two neighborhood boys, petitioner told the operator, had dragged L. H. from the garage to the yard, pushed her down, and raped her. Petitioner claimed he saw one of the boys riding away on a blue 10-speed bicycle. When police arrived at petitioner’s home between 9:20 and 9:30 a.m., they found L. H. on her bed, wearing aT-shirt and wrapped in a bloody blanket. She was bleeding profusely from the vaginal area. Petitioner told police he had carried her from the yard to the bathtub and then to the bed. Consistent with this explanation, police found a thin line of blood drops in the garage on the way to the house and then up the stairs. Once in the bedroom, petitioner had used a basin of water and a cloth to wipe blood from the victim. This later prevented medical personnel from collecting a reliable DNA sample. L. H. was transported to the Children’s Hospital. An expert in pediatric forensic medicine testified that L. H.’s injuries were the most severe he had seen from a sexual assault in his four years of practice. A laceration to the left wall of the vagina had separated her cervix from the back of her vagina, causing her rectum to protrude into the vaginal...
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...death, the individual is held in death row pending any habeas corpus or appeals, and if these fail, until the convict is convicted. Those opposed to capital punishment have contended that the isolation of a convict and the uneasiness over his or her destiny constitutes a kind of mental depravity and that long-term death row convicts are particularly prone to become mentally unstable. This condition is commonly known as death row phenomenon. In severe cases, some convicts may try committing suicide. Issues relating to the administration of capital punishment are vast and varied. Often, talk about the use of death penalty concentrates more on sentimental arguments pertaining to the moral issue emanating from the administration of death penalty. This paper attempts to study the issues that surround capital punishment by making use of the system analysis approach. It shall endeavor to explore the dehumanizing effects brought about by the recommencement of capital punishment. While there are no clear-cut answers regarding the matter of capital punishment and death sentence, this paper will attempt to shed more light on the normally intricate social issue. Impact of Death Row on the Correction System In June 1972 in a case concerning Furman v. Georgia brought before the U.S. Supreme Court, the court submitted that capital punishment was unlawful and unconstitutional and revoked the state death penalty legislations across the entire U. S. Several death sentences were adjusted...
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...Abstract Capital punishment had caused a divide in our society; those who believe it is unethical and morally wrong for the government to take one’s life and those who believe capital punishment is right and is needed to the deterrence of crime. This is a very controversial issue and brings up many different points of views from many different people. Some argue that murderers should be executed and pay for the crimes they’ve committed while others believe life imprisonment is suffice. The Catholic Church condemns this type of punishment but those who have been victimized are crying for justice. Another argument is that the methods used for capital punishment is against the Eight Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. My intentions for this paper are to present and analyze both sides of the argument. Is the death penalty immoral or is it immoral not to impose it? Introduction Capital punishment, also known as the death, has been one of the most controversial issue currently still under fire about its morality. Many believe it is both unethical and morally wrong for the government to take one’s life while others believe capital punishment is right and is needed to the deterrence of crime. This is a very controversial issue and brings up many different points of views from many different people. Some argue that murderers should be executed and pay for the crimes they’ve committed while others believe life imprisonment is suffice. The Catholic Church condemns this...
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