Hypothesis 1: Married individuals are more likely to support the death penalty than individuals who were never married.
From the evidence this appears to be true. The data shows that 73.2% of married individuals support the death penalty while only 59.2% of those who were never married support the death penalty. However, when looking at other groups of single individuals such as those who have been widowed, divorcees, or separated respondents, the results are different. These groups have 70.1%, 70.1%, and 77.8% support for the death penalty respectively. The percentage of the first two are very close to the percentage of support for married individuals, while separated individuals have even more support for the death penalty than those who are currently married. In conclusion, it appears from the evidence that currently married individuals are more likely to support the death penalty than individuals who were never married.
Hypothesis 2: Individuals without children are more likely to support capital punishment than other groups.
From the data, this hypothesis appears to be false. While 66.4% of respondents without children favor the death penalty, 74.8% of respondents with 2 children support the death penalty. However, other groups within this category have less support for capital punishment than individuals without children. Therefore the evidence appears to be inconclusive.
Hypothesis 3: Individuals working full time are less likely to oppose the death penalty than all other groups.
From the data, this appears to be true. 27% of respondents in this category (working full time) opposed the death penalty. In contrast, 40% of individuals working part time opposed the death penalty as did 32.1% of individuals temporarily not working, 30% of laid off individuals, 30.7% of retirees, and 46.3% in school. However, looking at the data it is also evident that the percentage of respondents in this category who opposed the death penalty is similar to the percentage of those who are either temporarily not working, have been laid off, or are retired. The only groups with significantly different percentages are those working part time and students. I would survey a larger sample to obtain more accurate results. From the data given, however, it appears to be true that individuals working full time are less likely to oppose the death penalty than all other work-status related groups.
Hypothesis 4: Men are more likely to support the death penalty than women.
74.5 % of men favored the death penalty with only 25.
Jacobs, David and Jason T. Carmichael. 2002. “The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty: A Pooled Time-Series Analysis.” American Sociological Review 67: 109-131.
Support for the death penalty has fluctuated throughout the century. According to Gallup surveys, in 1936 61% of Americans favored the death penalty for persons convicted of murder...
Capital punishment and whether or not the death sentence should be used in the American legal system remains a highly controversial topic, still widely debated as to whether or not it is an ethical means of penance for convicted criminals. While 1,369 individuals have been executed under this law since the reinstating of the death penalty in 1976, only 14 women are included among these figures. The disproportionate statistic of women executed in the United States compared to their men executed brings to light whether or not the U.S. legal system imposes gender discrimination in making their decision on convicting criminals to the death sentence, favoring and giving more mercy to women over men.
Nationally, murder rates are significantly lower in states that don’t use the death penalty than in those with a death penalty law. “Critics also point out that the United States has a higher murder rate than most western European nations that do not practice capital punishment, and that death sentences are racially discriminatory” (Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, 2015,
Currently, 35 states still impose the death penalty while 16 states, including the District of Columbia, have abolished it. Opponents of capital punishment point out that the states that allow the death penalty experienced 42 percent more murders than the states who have abolished the deat...
Murray, Gregg R. "Raising Considerations: Public Opinion And The Fair Application Of The Death Penalty." Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell) 84.4 (2003): 753-770. Business Source Complete. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Mitchell, A. D. (2005). The effects of the Marshall hypothesis on attitudes toward the death penalty. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Union Institute and University, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/305376378?accountid=7117
...es, even though 80% of the population is in favor of it, because of the numerous ethical and practical issues that must be taken into consideration (Winters139-144). Experts on both sides of the argument have numerous statistics and studies to back up their claims and to refute the claims of their opponents. Death penalty supporters hold that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, and brings justice to killers. However, death penalty opponents maintain that the death penalty does not deter criminals, and desensitizes people to violence. There are no easy answers to the questions surrounding the imposition of the death penalty in the United States. Thus one should pursue this question with an open mind and consider all sides of the argument, because as Thomas Jefferson once said, "difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and inquiry leads to truth" (Winters 11).
Certain states in America still impose the death penalty for serious offences, with the support of the community as it prevents reoffending and aims to prevent future offending (Durlauf, Fu, and Navarro 2013). Data collected over a period of time by numerous studies have conflicting evidence on the success of the deterrent effect. Some suggest that states which enforce the death penalty have lower rates of serious crimes (Radelet and Lacock 2009; Death Penalty Information Centre 2016; Abrams 2012) when compared to states that do not enforce the penalty. While other studies suggest that the rate of serious crimes is lower in states that do not enforce the penalty (Radelet and Lacock 2009, 502; Durlauf, Fu, and Navarro 2013).
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
Thesis Statement: Supporters to the Death Penalty are falling because of the lack of evidence to prove they are doing the right, in contrast the opponents are finding more and more material to abolish the Death Penalty.
Jacoby believes the death penalty protects society by threatening future murders with fear. Gaes believes the death penalty is necessary because the overpopulation in prisons causes emotional and physical distress. The stronger side of the debate seems to be that the death penalty does not discourage crime at all nor does it help the victim’s family heal. It would be useful to know whether or not death-penalty states as a whole have lower rates of crime than non-death penalty states when arguing for the death penalty.
Death penalty supporters believe that capital punishment is the only sure way to deter murderers from committing murders again. “The argument that murderers are the least likely of all criminals to repeat their crimes is not only irrelevant, but also increasingly false. Six percent of young adults paroled in 1978 after having been convicted of murder were arrested for murder again with six years of release” (Death Penalty Paper).
The death penalty has always been and continues to be a very controversial issue. People on both sides of the issue argue endlessly to gain further support for their movements. While opponents of capital punishment are quick to point out that the United States remains one of the few Western countries that continue to support the death penalty, Americans are also more likely to encounter violent crime than citizens of other countries (Brownlee 31). Justice mandates that criminals receive what they deserve. The punishment must fit the crime. If a burglar deserves imprisonment, then a murderer deserves death (Winters 168). The death penalty is necessary and the only punishment suitable for those convicted of capital offenses. Seventy-five percent of Americans support the death penalty, according to Turner, because it provides a deterrent to some would-be murderers and it also provides for moral and legal justice (83). "Deterrence is a theory: It asks what the effects are of a punishment (does it reduce the crime rate?) and makes testable predictions (punishment reduces the crime rate compared to what it would be without the credible threat of punishment)", (Van Den Haag 29). The deterrent effect of any punishment depends on how quickly the punishment is applied (Workshop 16). Executions are so rare and delayed for so long in comparison th the number of capitol offenses committed that statistical correlations cannot be expected (Winters 104). The number of potential murders that are deterred by the threat of a death penalty may never be known, just as it may never be known how many lives are saved with it. However, it is known that the death penalty does definitely deter those who are executed. Life in prison without the possibility of parole is the alternative to execution presented by those that consider words to be equal to reality. Nothing prevents the people sentenced in this way from being paroled under later laws or later court rulings. Furthermore, nothing prevents them from escaping or killing again while in prison. After all, if they have already received the maximum sentence available, they have nothing to lose. For example, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court banished the death penalty. Like other states, Texas commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. After being r...
Lester PH. D., David. "Are Murderers Likely to Murder Again?" The Death Penalty. 2nd ed. Il: Charles C. Thomas. 1988. 118.