Capital Punishment (1)

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Capital Punishment

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topic related to capital punishment

Transcript of Capital Punishment (1)

  • Capital Punishment

  • History of Capital Punishment in the United States

  • Early HistoryEuropean (especially English) settlers influenced our nations use of the death penaltyFirst recorded execution: Captain George Kendall Jamestown, Virginia, 1608First woman executed: Jane Champion, 1632Crimes punishable by death: stealing grapes, striking your Mother or Father

  • Colonial TimesCesare Beccaria's 1767 essay: On Crimes and Punishment Thomas Jeffersons proposed billDr. Benjamin Rush, founder of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, challenged the use of the death penaltybrutalization effect: having a death penalty actually increased criminal conduct1794: Pennsylvania abolishes the death penalty for all offenses except first degree murder

  • 19th Century1846: Michigan abolishes death penalty for all crimes except treasonMost states retained death penalty rightsSome states expanded crimes punishable by death (especially crimes committed by slaves)Introduction of discretionary death penalty statues1888: New York builds the first electric chair

  • Early 20th Century1924: cyanide gas as a more humane form of execution 1920-40s: resurgence in death penalty after a short-lived lullCriminologists wrote that the death penalty was a necessary social measureProhibition and the Great DepressionMore executions in the 1930s than in any other decade in American history

  • Mid-Late 20th Century1950s: public opinion turns against capital punishment1940s: 1,289 executions 1950s: 715 executions1967-1977: voluntary moratorium January 17, 1977: moratorium ends with execution of Gary Gilmore by firing squadAlso in 1977: Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as a means of execution

  • ConstitutionalityPrior to the 1960s: Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as allowing the death penaltyEarly 1960s: suggested that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual" punishment

  • Other Laws1994 - President Clinton signs the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act expanding the federal death penalty

    1998: Northwestern University National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty

  • 59 prisoners were executed in the USA in 2004, bringing the year end total to 944 executed since the use of the death penalty was resumed in 1977.

    Over 3,400 prisoners were under sentence of death as of January 1, 2005. 38 of the 50 US states provide for the death penalty in law. The death penalty is also provided under US federal military and civilian law.

  • State NameTexasVirginiaFloridaDelawareCurrent Death Row Population 4142338819Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder? YesNoYesYesNumber of Innocent Persons Freed From Death Row 81210Method InjectionChoice of Injection or Electrocution Choice of Injection or Electrocution Injection / Choice of Hanging if sentenced before 6/13/86

    California648Yes3Choice of Injection or Gas

  • The song Hurricane by Bob Dylan made a huge difference in the life of Rubin Hurricane Carter. Carter was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 3 white people who were gunned down at a bar in Paterson, New Jersey on June 16, 1967. Police were looking for 2 black men and pulled over Carter and his friend John Artis. They were sentenced to life in prison.

  • An innocent man?8 years into his incarceration, Carter sent Dylan a copy of his autobiography. Dylan visited him in prison, and convinced of his innocence, wrote "Hurricane." Dylan went to Carter's prison in 1975 as a show of support. The visit brought a lot of attention to Carter's case.

  • Raising attention and moneyTouring with the Rolling Thunder Revue, which featured Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Roberta Flack, Dylan raised over $100,000 for Carter's defense at a Madison Square Garden concert the day after visiting his prison. A month later, they held another charity concert, Hurricane II, in the Astrodome.

  • Dylan's efforts brought new publicity to Carter's case, getting him a new trial in 1976, where he was again convicted, with prosecutors claiming he killed the men in retaliation for a murder of a black man earlier that night. Carter was not freed until 1984, when his conviction was finally overturned.

  • Pro Capital Punishment

  • Public SupportExcept for a period during the 1950s and 1960s, a majority of Americans have supported capital punishment. Recent support has been high. A 1988 Gallop Poll reported that 79% of Americans supported the death penalty, and that percentage rose to 80% in 1994. Gallup Polls Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?

  • Once a CriminalAlways a CriminalOf the 3,452 inmates on Death Row as of January 1, 200465% had a prior felony conviction at the time of the murder8% had a prior homicide conviction at the time of the murder8% had criminal charges pending at the time of the murder27% were on probation or parole at the time of the murder4.5% were incarcerated or had escaped from incarceration.

  • Philosophical ViewUtilitarianism-the right action is the one that produces the greatest good.The most common defense of capital punishment is based on Utilitarian ground

    Prohibits the criminal from offending againDeterrence for would-be offenders

    Both of these contribute to creating a greater balance of happiness in society, thus supporting the Utilitarian view

  • John LockeHe argues a person forfeits his rights when committing even minor crimesHis support for Capital Punishment is based on 2 views:

    Retributive: Criminal deserves punishment as retribution for his act

    Utilitarian: Punishment is needed to protect our society by deterring the crime through example

  • Its the right wayThe death penalty is morally just. When a person commits murder, the only appropriate way for a criminal justice system to respond is to demonstrate the outrage of society. The sacredness of human life must be reinforced. If outrage for each murder is not conveyed, the value of life is cheapened. Therefore, the sanction for murder should be proportionate justice: if one takes a life, one must die too.

  • Whats more humane?

    Is the death penalty less humane than life imprisonment?

    The prisoner suffers by rotting in prison for the rest of his life, while the death penalty is instantaneous in comparison (8 yrs. vs. 30-40 yrs.)

    Prison is more torturous and degrading than execution, as your freedom is taken and youre essentially locked-up in a cage (much like an animal)

    Physical torment (which we all know about)

  • Cost of Imprisonment New York City's Correction Department spent an average of nearly $59,000 per inmate in the 2003 fiscal year. But when all city expenses are factored in - insurance and pension benefits for correction staff, for instance, as well as more than $150 million for jail medical care - the yearly per-inmate cost is closer to $100,000, according to the city's Independent Budget Office. (As reported by NY Times) $240,000,000,000 per year in New York

  • The Bargain of the Death PenaltyOpponents claim that Life Without Parole should replace the Death Penalty The life without parole alternative to the death penalty keeps criminals in prison on avg. 30-40 yrs. With the national cost of incarceration between 40-50 thousand dollars annually.35 yrs. X $45,000 = $$$$1,575,000The average time on death row for those executed from 1973-1994 was 8 yrs.8 yrs. X 45,000 = $360,000Average savings per execution: $1,215,000Put that towards the National Deficit!!!

  • Options for ExecutionMurderers who are executed are given an option of how theyd like to be executed (options vary by state), a luxury that wasnt afforded by their victimsCHOICES MAY INCLUDE:Lethal injection (81% since 1976)Electrocution (16%)-9 states Lethal Gas (1.1%)-Only available in Arizona, California, Missouri & WyomingHanging (0.3%)-Only available in Delaware, New Hampshire, & WashingtonFiring Squad (0.2%)-Only available in Idaho & Oklahoma

  • AMA and Lethal InjectionThe American Medical Association has decried the participation of doctors in executions as a clear violation of medical ethics. Nonetheless, since all 38 states with the death penalty use lethal injections, doctors are needed -- and doctors do participate.

  • Bottom Line

    The Death Penalty Incapacitates The Offender. Capital punishment eliminates the threat of convicted murderers killing again. An example of this possibility is provided by James W. Marquart and Jonathan R. Sorenson, sociologists at Sam Houston State University. They examined the histories of all those re-sentenced after the Supreme Court emptied state death rows with its Furman decision. Seven of those released prisoners committed another murder after leaving prison.

    The recidivism rate for capital punishment is zero. No executed murderer has ever killed again. You can't say that about those sentenced to prison, even if you are an abolitionist.

  • Against Capital Punishment

  • Cons of Capital PunishmentIt does not deter crimeThe U.S. has been unable to prevent accidental execution of those wrongly accused and convictedRace plays a central role in who is executed and who is notOften the actual facts of the case are not used to determine if the death penalty is applied

  • Cons of Capital PunishmentAlmost every religion condemns the death penaltyMost other developed countries have abolished the death penaltyExecutions are expensive to taxpayersThe money saved from executions could go to families of the victims

  • Cons of Capital PunishmentIncompetent counsel is a problem in more than half of all trials that result in the death penaltyThe alternative (life without parole) is better for all parties (deathpenalty.org)

  • $2,000,000 Million

    Estimated cost for CA taxpayers per execution

    Costs more ($90,000) to house inmates on death row than in the general prison population (

  • 1993 Study by UC Berkeley ProfessorCapital punishment trials are different than other trialsJuries are prepared differentlyDual trial for defendantAutomatic appeal if convicted

  • More Reasons to Abolish Capital PunishmentPurported to be for protection of society and deterrent to future criminalsCannot reform criminals because their lives are effectively cut shortCapital Punishment is irrevocable and errors cannot be fixed once committed

  • The U.S. Compared to the Rest of the WorldSince 1976 (the year the U.S. reinstated the death penalty) an average of 3 countries/year have abolished the death penalty (amnestyinternational.org)

    75 countries have abolished the death penalty altogether on grounds that it is cruel and unusual punishment

    "The forfeiture of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict it on another, even when backed by legal process. And I believe that future generations, throughout the world, will come to agree. - Kofi Annan

  • 86 countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes 11 countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes. 25 countries can be considered abolitionist in practice: they retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions

  • Over 40 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes since 1990.

    They include countries in Africa (recent examples include Cte dIvoire, Senegal),

    The Americas (Canada, Paraguay, Mexico), Asia and the Pacific (Bhutan. Samoa, Turkmenistan)

    And Europe and the South Caucasus (Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey).

  • Death sentences and executions

    During 2004, at least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries and at least 7,395 people were sentenced to death in 64 countries.

    In 2004, 97 percent of all known executions took place in China, Iran, Vietnam and the USA. Iran executed at least 159 people, and Vietnam at least 64.

    There were 59 executions in the USA, down from 65 in 2003.

  • Sourceswww.deathpenalty.orgwww.amnestyinternational.orghttp://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/bldeathpenalty.htmhttp://www.closeup.org/punish.htmhttp://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/dpusa.htm