The Death Penalty

By Sana Karim and Ellen Piehl

Eighth Amendment

“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor

excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments

inflicted.”

Facts

• US is the only English-speaking Western democracy that still practices the death penalty

• 35 states have the death penalty• 1232 executions in the US since

1973

History

• European settlers brought capital punishment

• First recorded execution in 1608• 1612 Divine, Moral and Martial

Laws• Laws varied from colony to colony

History

• 1632 – Jane Champion becomes first woman executed in colonies

• Late 1700s- American abolitionist movement begins

• Early 1800s – States reduce their numbers of capital crimes

History

• 1907-1917 – 9 states abolish the death penalty

• 1920s-1940s – Abolitionist movement loses support

• 1930s – executions reach highest levels in history

• Francis v. Resweber

History

• 1948 - UN adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• 1950-1980 – abolition becomes the norm in western Europe

• 1958 – Trop v. Dulles• 1966 – support of capital

punishment reaches all-time low

History

• 1968 – Witherspoon v. Illinois• 1972 – Furman v. Georgia

– Death penalty suspended

• 1976 – Gregg v. Georgia– Death penalty reinstated

• 1986 – Ford v. Wainwright

History

• 1987 – McCleskey v. Kemp• 1988 – Thompson v. Oklahoma• 1989 – Penry v. Lynaugh• 1993 – Herrera v. Collins• 1994 – Violent Crime Control and

Law Enforcement Act• 2005 – Roper v. Simmons

Pro Death Penalty“If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call."

- John McAdams

Deterrence

• Death penalty deters other criminals

• Estimated that each state execution deters between 4 and 25 murders per year

• Results from the announcement of capital punishment

State Executions, Deterrence, and the Incidence of Murder by Paul Zimmerman

Justice

• Provides justice and retribution for victims and families

• “An eye for an eye” view• Provides closure

Punishment

• Life in prison is a more cruel and unusual punishment than death

• Life in prison provides no chance of a future

• Life in prison does not prevent escapes

Overcrowding in Prisons

• Death penalty helps decrease overcrowding in prisons

• Many prisons more than 33% over their official capacities

• 2.4 million prisoners in US• US has highest documented

incarceration rate in the world– 754/100,000 people http://

usgovinfo.about.com/cs/censusstatistic/a/aaprisonpop.htm

Pro Death Penalty Groups

• Justice For All• Throw Away the Keys• National Center for Policy Analysis

Idea House: Capital Punishment

Anti Death Penalty

Innocence

• Possibility of innocence• 139 exonerations since 1973• Average of 3.1 exonerations a year

1973-1999• Average of 5 exonerations a year

2000-2007

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty

Exonerations

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-and-death-penalty

Costs

• California - $90,000 more a year to keep a man on death row

• Cost of current death row system is $137 million annually

• Cost of system with only maximum life sentences would be $11.5 million annually

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

Costs

• Defendants with lower representation costs more likely to receive death penalty

• 44% chance of death penalty with costs under $320,000

• 19% chance of death penalty with costs over $320,000

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

Race

• System tainted with racial bias• Defendants more likely to receive

death penalty if victim is white• 80% of cases submitted by federal

prosecutors for death penalty review in the past five years have involved racial minorities as defendants

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-death-penalty

Race

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-death-penalty

Race

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-death-penalty

Race

http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/usa/incarceration/

Deterrence

• Murder rates in states without death penalty consistently lower than rates in states with death penalty

• 10 of 12 states without death penalty have lower than average homicide rates

• 1/2 states with penalty have higher than average rateshttp://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-

states-without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower-murder-rates

Arbitrariness

• Lack of uniformity in capital punishment system

• Ineffective guidelines• Opportunity to fall back on

prejudices• Juror problems and failures

Anti Death Penalty Groups

• Amnesty International• The Moratorium Campaign• Witness to Innocence• Students Against the Death

Penalty• Equal Justice USA

Republicans

“Courts must have the option of imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases and other instances of heinous crime, while federal review of those sentences should be streamlined to focus on claims of innocence and to prevent delaying tactics by defense attorneys.” (RNC, gop.com)

Democrats

• Less supportive of death penalty• Believe death penalty must not be

arbitrary• Support extensive use of DNA

testing • Support providing adequate

counsel

Constitution Party

• Support states’ right to choose death penalty as an option

• Only support death penalty for capital crimes– Death penalty only applied in cases

where there has been a threat to innocent life

Public Opinion Polls

Public Opinion Polls

Public Opinion Polls

Public Opinion Polls

Recent Developments

• 7 states have proposed bills to abolish the death penalty

• 3 states have abandoned death penalty in past 3 years

• 2009 bill introduced to abolish federal death penalty

• Bills to expand death penalty have been struck down

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/recent-legislative-activity#2010