The death penalty provides immeasurable public benefit by discouraging people from committing capital offenses. 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. Read more. Another point to paper pro death penalty a job well done. He responds by saying that capital punishment is not inherently racist and that the people studying deterrence are discouraged and, thus, quiet about their research. Under what conditions, if any, do you think a court should sentence a person to death? As of January 2021, Black defendants accounted for 34.1 percent of all people executed in the United States since 1976 and over 40 percent of the country's death row population despite making up just over 13 percent of the general US population. The Federal Death Penalty Act prohibits the government from executing an inmate who is mentally disabled; however, in the recent executions of Corey Johnson, Alfred Bourgeois and Lisa Montgomery, their defense teams, families and others argued that they had intellectual disabilities. About a quarter of Democrats (23%) strongly oppose the death penalty, compared with 17% who strongly favor it. Mr. Lees lawyers opposed that request, insisting that overturning the order would result in their clients imminent execution. Among Black adults, 53% of those without college degrees favor the death penalty, compared with 34% of those with college degrees. How do we continue to track changes in public opinion when theres a shift in survey mode?. During the 1980s, more than half of all federal appeals in capital punishment cases resulted in death sentences being overturned. A large majority of White adults without college degrees (72%) favor the death penalty, compared with about half (47%) of White adults who have degrees. All things being equal and fair, the death penalty is a suitable punishment for a select number of crimes. But as a legal issue, it is straightforward. Critics cast doubt on its value as a crime deterrent and argued that the courts applied it inconsistently and unequally. I have ten death penalty articles that will help you turn a stale topic into a well-written and interesting essay. Do you think the death penalty serves a necessary purpose, like deterring crime, providing relief for victims families or imparting justice? While conservative Republicans are more likely to express support for the death penalty than moderate and liberal Republicans, clear majorities of both groups favor the death penalty (82% of conservative Republicans and 68% of moderate and liberal Republicans). Students, read the entire article, then tell us: Do you support the use of capital punishment? The third execution, of Dustin Honken, occurred on schedule, but still too late for some of his victims families. National Journal Group Inc., 06 Sept. 2014. On July 14, Daniel Lewis Lee was executed for the 1996 murder of a family, including an 8-year-old girl, by suffocating and drowning them in the Illinois Bayou after robbing them to fund a white-supremacist organization. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Why its a good source: This article includes strong points to work from and presents everything in a straightforward way. In January 2021 the federal government executed Lisa Marie Montgomery, the first woman to receive such a punishment from the federal government in sixty-seven years. The death penalty has been abolished in 22 states and 106 countries, yet it is still legal at the federal level in the United States. The shift is more pragmatic than moral, as Americans realize that our. Black adults are evenly divided: 49% favor the death penalty, while an identical share oppose it. Pro-Death Penalty article by UCLA Political Science student, Aanand N. Patel for student newspapaer. This view is particularly widespread among Black adults: 85% of Black adults say Black people are more likely than Whites to receive the death penalty for being convicted of similar crimes (61% of Hispanic adults and 49% of White adults say this). Exoneration occurs when a person's conviction is overturned. A grand jury determined in 2016 that state officials had committed a long list of oversights and avoidable mistakes in carrying out executions. 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? 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. More Americans favor than oppose the death penalty: 60% of U.S. adults favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, including 27% who strongly favor it. 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. What its about: This article does not state the authors opinion, but concentrates on an avid death penalty advocate, Kent Scheidegger. It includes a few links to studies and organizations that oppose the death penalty. Mr. Purkey was prosecuted during the George W. Bush administration, and his conviction and sentence were vigorously defended throughout the Obama administration. After America's Most Wanted aired a pro-gram about him, McDuff was arrested in 1992, convicted, and given two death sentences. 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. Gun Control. The United States Constitution expressly contemplates capital crimes, and Congress has authorized the death penalty for serious federal offenses since President George Washington signed the Crimes Act of 1790. This requirement that justice be served is not weakened by charges that only the black and the poor receive the death penalty. And for more on mode effects and the transition from telephone surveys to online panel surveys, see What our transition to online polling means for decades of phone survey trends and Trends are a cornerstone of public opinion research. A top Justice Department official says for many Americans the death penalty is a difficult issue on moral, religious and policy grounds. The Supreme Court ruled in the 1972 case of Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty, as it was implemented, violated the Constitution. It can be used in both pro- and anti-death penalty essays. That court entered a last-minute reprieve that the Supreme Court has said should be an extreme exception.. It can also be used as an important negotiating tool for the police and the justice system, as where the possible sentence is death, the prisoner . US Supreme Court Packing. some members of Mr. Lees victims families opposed his execution. 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. Muhlhausen, David B. In a New York Times Op-Ed essay published on July 17, two of Mr. Lees lawyers criticized the execution of their client, which they contend was carried out in a shameful rush. That objection overlooks that Mr. Lee was sentenced more than 20 years ago, and his appeals and other permissible challenges failed, up to and including the day of his execution. 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. And if death sentences are going to be imposed, they cannot just be hypothetical; they eventually have to be carried out, or the punishment will lose its deterrent and retributive effects. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Capital punishment enables the state to assert its authority over the people and serve in its role as the administrator of justice. 2016, Argumentative essay on The death penalty. 14 Jan. 2015. Here are the questions used for the report, along with responses, and its methodology. What its about: Gillespies article takes a very emotional approach, saying that state governments should protect the lives of all citizens, even convicted murderers. Top 9 Pro Death Penalty Arguments. For example, in his 25 September 1788 prodeath penalty essay in the. Overall this article points out the flaws of the death penalty system in Texas, but does not take a stance against the concept of the death penalty in general. While many are in favor of capital punishment, others still show compassion and mercy on the criminals, thinking that a human still resides in the monster that killed many souls. The government is granted the authority to execute a person if certain conditionssuch as arrest, indictment, and trialhave been met. Given the long delay that had already occurred, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift the order so the execution could proceed. Scheidegger is a California lawyer who is a staunch pro-death penalty supporter. Anyone can read what you share. 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. Mr. Lees lawyers seem to endorse a system of endless delays that prevent a death sentence from ever becoming real. As of March 2021, the death penalty had been abolished in twenty-three US states and the District of Columbia. White prisoners accounted for 56%, compared with their 77% share of the adult population. By inflicting death on those who deliberately inflict death on others, the death penalty ensures justice for all. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Most Americans Favor the Death Penalty Despite Concerns About Its Administration, Death penalty draws more Americans support online than in telephone surveys, What our transition to online polling means for decades of phone survey trends, Trends are a cornerstone of public opinion research. Only 15% of Democrats say this. Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. What its about: Jacobys article tells of then-governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romneys plan to create a fool-proof, error-free death penalty. The death penalty is helping cut down the population of inmates on death row. The consistency of this difference points to substantial mode effects on this question. Arizona 209 . 10-Year Unsolved Crime Leads to Death: Frank Welch Story. The court determined that the unequal and arbitrary application of the death penalty to African American defendants violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. There are substantial demographic differences in views of whether death sentencing is applied fairly across racial groups. 14 Jan. 2015. 14 Jan. 2015. In Death Penaltys Steady Decline, Some Experts See a Societal Shift. The New York Times. Among the public overall, 64% say the death penalty is morally justified in cases of murder, while 33% say it is not justified. The article lists his responses to common arguments from those opposed to the death penalty, such as the racial biases and whether the death penalty actually deters criminals. Justice Breyer wrote in that 46-page dissent that he considered it highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishments. the death penalty given an alternative of life without parole, support decreases significantly.7 In 1991, Gallup found that 76% of Americans supported the death penalty, but that support would drop to 53% if life imprisonment without parole were available as an alternative.8 While most deterrence research has found that the death penalty What its about: This article is the first of two parts and uses emotion more than straight facts. More than 14,000 people have been legally executed since colonial times, most of them in the early 20th Century. Justice requires that society impose on criminals losses equal to those they imposed on innocent persons. The less access to abortion, the greater the. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Instead of serving a lifelong custodial sentence, the criminal will wait on 'death row', eventually being executed. It also gives statistics on the racial disparity of capital punishment. Four of the eight inmates were ultimately executed, while four received stays of execution. Covering more than 160 subjects areas, ProQuest Central is the largest aggregated database of periodical content. In 2020 the rulings of the Florida Supreme Court in several cases reversed existing protections afforded to inmates sentenced to death. "violent crime has declined 11 percent, with murder showing the largest decline at even more than 22 percent. In 2017 officials in Arkansas came under criticism for expediting the schedule of eight executions by lethal injection before the state's supply of available drugs reached its expiration date. Choose your death penalty articles from a variety of sources. SIRS Issues Researcher These rulings overturned existing standards for evidence and jury agreement when imposing the death penalty. Gibson, Kyle. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. Use ProCon.org to help students strengthen their persuasive writing by identifying and responding to counterarguments. The Death Penalty Can Ensure Justice Is Being Done, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/federal-death-penalty.html. The death penalty is one of the most contentious issues in our society today. An overwhelming share of death penalty supporters (90%) say it is morally justified under such circumstances, compared with 25% of death penalty opponents. "Save taxpayers money" and "they deserve it" tie as the second-most-popular reasons Americans volunteer in this open-ended measure, at 14% each. As inhumane and morbid as it may sound, the death penalty is something that should remain in the United States. 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 . For example, the average cost of this case is almost $2.5 million (Goodman). And even though large majorities of both groups say there is some risk an innocent person will be put to death, members of the public who favor the death penalty are 24 percentage points more likely to say that there are adequate safeguards to prevent this than Americans who oppose the death penalty. However, a worldwide poll conducted in 2006 indicates that 52% of the world's population supports the death penalty. Capital Punishment in America: Race and the Death Penalty over Time by Martin G. Urbina. 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. 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. Since 1976, 1,336 death row inmates have been executed by lethal injection. Large shares of Americans express concerns over how the death penalty is administered and are skeptical about whether it deters people from committing serious crimes. The deepest element of the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" is to protect human life, and is the requirement to show reverence and love for every person and the life of every human being.The assault on human life is a consequence of original sin. Why its a good source: Again, this article could be used for either side of the argument. Why? As a result, survey results from recent online surveys are not directly comparable with past years telephone survey trends. Conversely, it costs approximately $200,000 to $300,000 to convict and sentence an . There Would No Longer Be Innocent Live Lost Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, more than 300 people have been exonerated of capital crimes. The attorneys suggested that the combination of COVID-19 infection with the flooding of the lungs caused by pentobarbital, the drug used in their executions, would cause suffering that amounted to "cruel and unusual punishment." Giving the death penalty as a punishment simply restores order to society and adequately punishes the criminal for his wrongdoing. A total of sixteen executions were carried out in the United States in 1989. But if the United States is going to allow capital punishment, a white-supremacist triple murderer would seem the textbook example of a justified case. Explain your answer. 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. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. Eckholm, Erik. 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. In its last six months, the United States government has put 13 prisoners to death. Yet the death penalty for people convicted of murder continues to draw support from a majority of Americans despite widespread doubts about its administration, fairness and whether it deters serious crimes. In 2006, Dr. Paul Rubin professor of economics at Emory University testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the death penalty's "strong deterrent effect." 18 Sep, 2015. According to data from Amnesty International, there were 579 executions in 2021, which represents a 20% increase from 2020. But his execution date was announced almost a year ago, and was initially set for last December. Oklahoma attorney general Mike Hunter announced that the state would adopt nitrogen gas inhalation as its primary method of execution in March 2018, citing the difficulty in procuring the mandated drugs for lethal injection. It gives a link to a document from the US Department of Justice and provides numbers on the amount of violence that occurs at the hands of prison gangs. Death penalty cases were required to strictly adhere to due-process rules, and during the late 1970s, the Supreme Court handed down decisions that expanded defendants' rights in capital offense trials and ruled that capital punishment could not be imposed for the rape of an adult, a decision that essentially limited the death penalty to charges of murder, treason, and the rape of a child. Pro death penalty persuasive speech. 10 facts about the death penalty in the U.S. Death penalty draws more Americans support online than in telephone surveys, California is one of 11 states that have the death penalty but havent used it in more than a decade, Public support for the death penalty ticks up, 60% of Americans Would Be Uncomfortable With Provider Relying on AI in Their Own Health Care, The changing face of Congress in 8 charts. Cases resulted in death Penaltys Steady Decline, some Experts See a shift. 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