An additional four federal prisoners were executed in January 2021, during the last weeks of Trump's presidency. A grand jury determined in 2016 that state officials had committed a long list of oversights and avoidable mistakes in carrying out executions. Some states attempted to circumvent regulations, resulting in the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seizing drug supplies from prisons in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The court's rulings also indicated that inconsistent and racially biased death sentences could be prevented by holding two hearings: one to establish guilt and one, if found guilty, to determine sentencing. Adults ages 50 to 64 are most supportive of the death penalty, with 69% in favor. What its about: This article, like the one above, is more concerned with problems within the structure of the death penalty than with whether or not there should be a death penalty. Call Number: HV8699.U5 U734 2012. It lists issues such as lethal drug shortages and legal expenses as reasons why the death penalty is losing popularity. Want to Read. The article is very straightforward with little to no emotional appeal. Moral arguments. It was delayed when his lawyers obtained six more months of review by unsuccessfully challenging the procedures used to carry out his lethal injection. Mercy and pardon are proper to God . If you near the end of your essay and dont feel confident that you have enough support, or are just unsure about your grammar, send it to one of the Kibin editors. However, just 26% of Democrats who favor the death penalty say that Black and White people are equally likely to receive this sentence, and only 6% of Democrats who oppose the death penalty say this. "Capital Punishment." Justice Breyer added that there was little reason to think that the death penalty deterred crime and that long delays between sentences and executions might themselves violate the Eighth Amendment. Are there alternatives to the death penalty that you think would be more appropriate? News & Cases See more. As John Duncan was dying of cancer in 2018, he asked family members to promise they would witness the execution on his behalf. Pros and Cons of Abolishing the Death Penalty, The death penalty should be abolished because it violates the Eighth Amendment's protection against ". How the Death Penalty Saves Lives. U.S. News and World Report. In Gallup's most recent poll, 67 percent of Americans favor the death penalty for those convicted of murder, while only 28 percent are opposed. As you can tell, there are a lot of different types of sources out theresome are emotional, some are dry and factual. Here are some tips. Though their use is rare, secondary execution methods permitted by individual state laws include electrocution, gas inhalation, hanging, and firing squad. About a quarter of Democrats (23%) strongly oppose the death penalty, compared with 17% who strongly favor it. Improperly trained defense lawyers, racial discrimination by juries, judges that dont follow protocol, and rushed post-conviction procedures are all cited as reasons for so many executions. After the unofficial moratorium on capital punishment ended with the executions of Gary Gilmore in Utah in 1977 and John Spenkelink in Florida in 1979, the execution rate remained low for an extended period. In the US, that number is 65%. 6. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. The judge who imposed the death sentence on Mr. Honken, Mark Bennett, said that while he generally opposed the death penalty, he would not lose any sleep over Mr. Honkens execution. A majority of Americans (56%) say Black people are more likely than White people to be sentenced to the death penalty for being convicted of serious crimes. Removing the option to seek the death penalty would be unconstitutional because the Fifth Amendment authorizes its application as long as ". Among Republicans who favor the death penalty, 78% say that Black and White people are equally likely to receive this sentence. The court ruled that mandatory capital punishment laws were too rigid. Warren McCleskey, a Black resident of Georgia, had been convicted of killing a white police officer during an armed robbery in 1978 and sentenced to death. For this analysis, we surveyed 5,109 U.S. adults from April 5 to 11, 2021. Partisanship continues to be a major factor in support for the death penalty and opinions about its administration. In 1999 state governments carried out ninety-eight executions, the highest number since the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. Before I get to the good stuff, Ill let you know the secrets to choosing the right kinds of death penalty articles for your essay. "Save taxpayers money" and "they deserve it" tie as the second-most-popular reasons Americans volunteer in this open-ended measure, at 14% each. Black adults are evenly divided: 49% favor the death penalty, while an identical share oppose it. Over the past two years, the share of Republicans who say they favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder has decreased slightly by 7 percentage points while the share of Democrats who say this is essentially unchanged (46% today vs. 49% in 2019). New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2013. In Support of the Death Penalty An article detailing the argument for the death penalty. They sought to obstruct by any means the administration of sentences that Congress permitted, juries supported and the Supreme Court approved. July 27,. How concerned should we be about wrongfully convicted people being executed? Eric Risberg/AP. Web. . It was a chilly afternoon outside the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a maximum-security prison for death-row inmates in Livingston, Texas. Yet, in less than a year, with the promulgation of a . I have ten death penalty articles that will help you turn a stale topic into a well-written and interesting essay. And Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who held the decisive vote in many closely divided cases until his retirement in 2018, had written the majority opinions in several 5-to-4 decisions that imposed limits on the death penalty, including ones barring the execution of juvenile offenders and people convicted of crimes other than murder. There is widespread agreement on one topic related to the death penalty: Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say that there is some risk an innocent person will be put to death, including large majorities among various racial or ethnic, educational, and even ideological groups. Amnesty International holds that the death penalty breaches human rights, in particular the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. About half of those with four-year undergraduate degrees but no postgraduate experience (49%) support the death penalty. Most states authorized a system of allowing the jury to decide the guilty party's punishment, though some allowed judges to make the decision or retain the right to overrule the jury. What its about: This article begins with a case of a man who was sentenced to the death penalty, giving the details of the two first-degree murders he committed. That cautious step, taken to ensure undoubted compliance with court orders, is irreconcilable with the suggestion that the department rushed the execution or disregarded any law. The Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the Eighth Amendment but left the definition of intellectual disabilities up to individual states. Grades: 8-10 More>>. The Mennonite Central Committee in the U.S. has an essay on "state killing. How do we continue to track changes in public opinion when theres a shift in survey mode?. Governors had placed moratoriums on the death penalty in an additional three states. The Eighth Amendment, however, prohibits the government from enforcing "cruel and unusual punishment," which several lawsuits have used successfully to challenge certain applications of capital punishment. It then discusses the problems that the United States has had in procuring the drugs needed for lethal injectionsthe drugs supplied from Europe have been sold under the condition that they not be used for lethal injection. This books brings together original work by prominent scholars in an effort to better understand the growth of life without parole and its social, cultural, political, and legal meanings. Those who favor the death penalty consistently express more favorable attitudes regarding specific aspects of the death penalty than those who oppose it. About four-in-ten (39%) oppose the death penalty, with 15% strongly opposed, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Theyll look over it and give you suggestions to make it the best it can be. DPIC is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. Why its a good source: This article also gives important points to work from, similar to the previous article, and it works to detract from the arguments of death penalty supporters. 18 Sep, 2015. In Expedited Spree of Executions Faced Little Supreme Court Scrutiny, Adam Liptak writes about the recent federal executions: In 2015, a few months before he died, Justice Antonin Scalia said he would not be surprised if the Supreme Court did away with the death penalty. Eckholm, Erik. In the face of an extraordinary run of federal executions over the past six months, they have been left to wonder whether the court is prepared to play any role in capital cases beyond hastening executions. The third execution, of Dustin Honken, occurred on schedule, but still too late for some of his victims families. Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. This article examines the imposition of death sentences by geographic locale in the United States. It is important to make the distinction between the two ideas. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Since then, the Trump administration has executed 13 inmates, more than three times as many as the federal government had in the previous six decades. The death penalty goes against our most basic human right - the right to life. A 58% majority of 50- to 64-year-old Democrats favor the death penalty, compared with 47% of those ages 35 to 49 and about four-in-ten Democrats who are 18 to 34 or 65 and older. Read our research on: Congress | Economy | Black Americans. It can be used in both pro- and anti-death penalty essays. A similar ruling was handed down by the court in Moore v. Texas (2017), which stated that the standards used to determine intellectual disability in Texas created an "unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disabilities will be executed.". What its about: Although this article does not explicitly state an anti-death penalty point of view, it does have those undertones. It includes many facts and dates about the shifts in procedures of the death penalty and gives more information than other death penalty articles about the lethal injection drug shortage. Most people who write about the death penalty have an opinion one way or the other about it. But as a legal issue, it is straightforward. Execution Saves Innocents. Boston Globe. Also, the death penalty is a problem which costs money for the country. In a pro death penalty article, the author . It is a very complex issue, and context on the crime is essential. Rather than forthrightly opposing the death penalty and attempting to change the law through democratic means, however, Mr. Lees lawyers and others have chosen the legal and public-relations equivalent of guerrilla war. For example, about two-thirds of conservative Republicans (65%) say this compared with 34% who say there are adequate safeguards to ensure that no innocent person will be executed despite conservative Republicans expressing quite favorable attitudes toward the death penalty on other questions. Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death, while only 21% think there are adequate safeguards in place to prevent that from happening. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Support for the death penalty also varies across age groups. Capital Punishment refers to the practice where a person is killed by a State as a punishment for a crime. WASHINGTON (AP) Conservative justices holding the Supreme Court's majority seem likely to sink President Joe Biden's plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans . Why its a good source: This source gives a lot of specific information about what one state is doing wrong, complete with anecdotes and numbers. The issue has elicited divisive opinion among the citizens with one faction opposing it while another advocates for it as a deterrent for crime. Both rights are protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948. It ignores the fundamental truth of biblical anthropology: the soul that sins must die; sin incurs a debt that must be paid. Michael Smith. It says that capital punishment serves as retribution for victims and their families, as well as a deterrence for other murders. The article goes on to explain that Justice Stephen G. Breyer issued a dissent on Friday as the Supreme Court cleared the way for the last execution of the Trump era, complaining that it had not sufficiently resolved legal questions that inmates had asked. Sentencing a person to death for the rape or murder of an innocent person affirms the value of the life of the victim, and should bring more comfort to the victim's family. The death penalty is permanent, meaning if someone is wrongfully convicted, the effects are irreversible. 2014. Some of the cons of capital punishment include the following; Death penalty is a great burden to taxpayers financially because the actual cost of carrying out capital punishment is approximated to be 2-5 times higher than leaving the offender in prison for as many . More than eight-in-ten Democrats (83%) instead say that Black people are more likely than White people to be sentenced to the death penalty for committing similar crimes. Since 1978, California has spent more than $4 billion administering the death penalty, or more than $308 million per person for each of the 13 people who have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated. Republicans are consistently more likely than Democrats to favor the death penalty, though there are divisions within each party by age as well as by race and ethnicity. Why or why not. Jacoby then goes on to give evidence of studies correlating lower homicide rates in states with the death penalty. Being killed by lethal injection or being electrocuted is not always smooth and . It is a good source for pulling direct quotes instead of just giving statistics. A. Alabama 443. The answer was unequivocal: He would stay as long as it took. Or is capital punishment cruel and unusual and therefore prohibited by the Constitution? What other ideas do you have? Most of the country did not use the death penalty, he said, and the United States was an international outlier in embracing it. The death penalty, known as capital punishment, is the government-sanctioned taking of a life as punishment for a crime. A total of sixteen executions were carried out in the United States in 1989. Capital punishment is the execution of an offender who has been sentenced to death after conviction of a criminal offense by a court of law. The death penalty provides immeasurable public benefit by discouraging people from committing capital offenses. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. While death sentences have fallen across the country since the 1970s, the majority of executions that have taken place are attributable to a relatively small number of counties. However, the court also determined that the death penalty does not violate the Constitution, capital punishment serves as a practical deterrent, and retribution provides a justifiable basis for execution. If you're writing a paper about the death penalty, you can start with this list of sources, which provide arguments for all sides of the topic. (Retribution) 3.05: 1.28: 2.88: 1.31: 0.78 The death penalty is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment. Read the overview below to gain an understanding of the issues surrounding the death penalty and explore the previews of additional articles highlighting diverse perspectives. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), the Court invalidated existing death penalty laws because they constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The shift is more pragmatic than moral, as Americans realize that our. But as a legal issue, it is straightforward. Is it ever justified, such as for the most heinous crimes? When the District Court again imposed another last-minute stoppage, granting more time for Mr. Purkeys lawyers to argue (among other things) that he did not understand the reason for his execution, the Justice Department again sought Supreme Court review. European drug manufacturers objected to capital punishment procedures, and the European Commission banned the export of drugs used in lethal injection procedures in 2011. The federal government lifted its capital punishment moratorium in 1988, though it did not carry out another execution until 2001. Students, read the entire article, then tell us: Do you support the use of capital punishment? This award-winning online reference resource features a highly-respected, diversified mix of content including scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, books, newspapers, reports and videos. Because of this unique argument, this article should not be ignored. That process creates peace for the victims, their families, and society in general. There, as elsewhere, prosecutors, judges and jurors are concluding that the modern death penalty is a failed experiment. Addressing the Counterarguments. The Center was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for journalists, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. This relationship holds among members of each party. Emotional outburst disrupts death penalty trial in NY attack The sobbing father of a man convicted of killing eight people on a New York City bike path has apologized to victims and professed love for his son in the death penalty phase of the defendant's trial Feb. 22, 2023, 6:08 PM ET (AP) GOP Oklahoma lawmakers join call for death penalty pause However, death penalty supporters decried the ban, arguing that judges should be able to decide if the death penalty is warranted based on the circumstances of each case. "violent crime has declined 11 percent, with murder showing the largest decline at even more than 22 percent. Levi Pulkkinen Sept. 30, 2020. If you've looked for capital punishment essay topics, you're in luck! States and Death Row. After reviewing the matter, the court granted the governments request, rebuked the District Court for creating an unjustified last-minute barrier, and directed that the execution could proceed. Several nonprofit organizations work to end the use of capital punishment. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. Do you have worries about the fair application of the death penalty, or about the possibility of the criminal justice system executing an innocent person? Among Democrats, a 55% majority of conservatives and moderates favor the death penalty, a position held by just 36% of liberal Democrats (64% of liberal Democrats oppose the death penalty). It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Executions in the United States peaked during the 1930s at an average rate of 167 per year. What about restorative justice, an approach that considers harm done and strives for agreement from all concerned the victims, the offender and the community on making amends? Between 1973 and 2020, 173 inmates on death row in the United States were exonerated. Since our nation's founding, the government -- colonial, federal, and state -- has punished a varying percentage of arbitrarily-selected murders with the ultimate sanction: death. As a result, survey results from recent online surveys are not directly comparable with past years telephone survey trends. Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, has long been a feature of human society and has been used in the United States since the colonial era. In the 1980s, the court ruled that the death penalty could not be applied to offenders under the age of sixteen or those deemed mentally incompetent. DC and Puerto Rico Statehood. Majorities of White (63%), Asian (63%) and Hispanic adults (56%) favor the death penalty for persons convicted of murder. Nearly seven-in-ten adults (68%) who have not attended college favor the death penalty, as do 63% of those who have some college experience but no degree. (Deterrence) 2.73: 1.27: 2.71: 1.36: 0.16 I become angry when a convicted murderer does not receive the death penalty . Abolishing the death penalty is the only way to prevent bias in its application and ensure that no person is executed by the government erroneously or unconstitutionally. Justice requires that society impose on criminals losses equal to those they imposed on innocent persons. It also gives in-depth information about the lethal injection drug shortage and statistics on the publics views on the death sentence. Cruel and Unusual. New Yorker. 14 Jan. 2015. I feel the death penalty should only be used for the crime of murder and no other crime, such as rape. 14 Jan. 2015. The Death Penalty Can Ensure Justice Is Being Done, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/federal-death-penalty.html. In July, the United States carried out its first federal execution in 17 years. Now that weve covered what to look for in those death penalty articles, lets get to some more concrete examples. When researching a topic for an argumentative essay, accuracy is important, which means the quality of your sources is important. Concepts of retribu-tion, deterrence, and just punishment are discussed in the most . This in-depth article examines US state legislation that has impacted death sentencing in capital crimes. The dissenting opinion argued that the defendant had, in fact, sufficiently demonstrated that the use of lethal injection in this case met the standards for an Eighth Amendment challenge previously established by the court itself. However, White Democrats are less likely to favor the death penalty than Black, Hispanic or Asian Democrats. This doesnt always mean that you have to get an article from a well-known news website or national newspaper, but that the article should be backed up with cited facts. Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murderers although capital punishment can also be applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes. (See Death penalty draws more Americans support online than in telephone surveys for more on long-term measures and the challenge of comparing views across different survey modes.). Overall, White adults are more likely to favor the death penalty than Black or Hispanic adults, while White and Asian American adults are equally likely to favor the death penalty. In the years since the McCleskey ruling, opponents of capital punishment have continued to voice concerns about the role of racial bias in death penalty sentencing. 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