Methods
The question that I am interested in for research is, “Does a person’s view of the Bible influence what they think about the death penalty for murderers.” I would like to see if a person’s view of the bible influence what they think of the death penalty. This is interesting to me because I am interested in the field of criminal justice and the death penalty is a huge topic to this day. There are many journals that talk about studies that were done on religion and views of the death penalty which have to do with my topic of interest.
My hypothesis is that those who believe that the bible is the Word of God, or the truth, will support the death penalty for murder. In a study done by Baron that was talked about in an journal showed that when someone consults the bible before deciding if someone should be put to death they oppose it (Baron, 2009). In addition, it has been stated, in an journal written about a study by Unnever, Bartkowsi and Cullen, that those who had a stronger relationship with God were more likely to oppose the death penalty ( Unnever, Bartkowsi, and Cullen. 2010). It was also said in a study done and talked about in the journal, that those who believed the bible was the “direct word of God,” favored the death penalty (Miller, Hayward, 2008). In another study done and talked about by Young, the results showed that those who believed in the Bible were more likely to support the death penalty (Young, 1992). In an article that was written it was stated that those who have a more literal view of the Bible tend to support harsher punishments (Mencken, Johnson, Desmond and Bader, 2010). Not every study agrees with the other but looking at statistics will be interesting to see if there is a relationship between...
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... CASE FOR KEEPING THE BIBLE OUT OF CAPITAL
SENTENCING DELIBERATIONS. Northwestern University Law Review, 103(1), 369-
399.
Carson Mencken, F. , Johnson, B. , Desmond, S. , & Bader, C. (2010). Divine justice: The relationship between images of god and attitudes toward criminal punishment. Criminal
Justice Review, 35(1), 90-106.
GSS Codebook
Miller, M. , & Hayward, R. (2008). Religious characteristics and the death penalty. Law and
Human Behavior, 32(2), 113-123.
Unnever, J. D., Bartkowski, J. P., & Cullen, F. T. (2010). God Imagery and Opposition to
Abortion and Capital Punishment: A Partial Test of Religious Support for the Consistent
Life Ethic*. Sociology Of Religion, 71(3), 307-322. doi:10.1093/socrel/srq046.
Young, R. (1992). Religious orientation, race and support for the death penalty. Journal for the
Scientific Study of Religion, 31(1), 76-87.
There are two different kinds of righteousness that are explained through scripture; passive righteousness and active righteousness. In the film Dead Man Walking, Sister Helen, a nun, comforts Matthew, a convicted murderer and rapist, and the tension between her comforting Matthew over the families loss of their children grows. Sister Helen opposes the death penalty, whereas the Apostle Paul, in Romans 13, did not object to the death penalty. The Apostle Paul teaches that we must live by grace with each other, but Paul also clearly states that we are to obey and respect human government. Passive righteousness and active righteousness are examined in Dead Man Walking.
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; The Death Penalty.” 6 Jan. 2007. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 4 Apr. 2007. < http://www.religioustolerance.org/execute.htm>.
Geraghty, Thomas F. "Trying to Understand America’s Death Penalty System and Why We Still Have it." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 94.1 (2003): 209-237. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Nov. 2009.
Mappes, Thomas A., Jane S. Zembaty, and David DeGrazia. "The Death Penalty." Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 105-53. Print.
The first thing I want to cover is deterrence. Does the death penalty really deter crime? Some people say it does, that they work the same way speed signs work: First you notice the speed sign, then you drive without getting over the speed limit, it obviously works. Or does it? I came across many articles proving that speed signs are not a deterrent for speeding. Karen Sorensen writes on her news site “The Plainfield Police Department reports they issued 93 tickets for speeding and two for speeding in a construction zone despite warning signs being posted all along Rout...
Travelling around the world, this paper presents the various religious perspectives evidenced in recent actions taken regarding the death penalty.
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).
...ther hand, what about an innocent person getting killed? Can we, as mere human's sentence another human being to death? In the end my feelings go with my religion. In a famous case in the Talmud, which surprisingly enough is cited in Black's book, the death penalty is discussed.
Pasquerella, Lynn. “The Death Penalty in the United States.” The Study Circle Resource Center of Topsfield Foundation. July 1991. Topsfield Foundation. 03 Feb 2011. Web.
Brodsky, Stanley, Tell L. Neal, and Michelle A. Jones. "A Reasoned Argument Against Banning Psychologists' Involvement In Death Penalty Cases." Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
Arguments against capital punishment include religious and spiritual concerns about killing; belief that it does not deter; race, gender, and class
In the study conducted by Miller and Bornstein in 2006 regarding the use of religion and religious appeals in a death penalty case the researchers set out to find if these “religious appeals influenced the way of thinking. It is said that defense attorneys are hired to defend their client and give an argument that will be most beneficial for the client. There are various cases that have occurred dealing with the religious appeal argument that attorneys have used to persuade jurors i...
Capital punishment goes against almost every religion. Isolated passages of religious scripture have been quoted in support of the death penalty, almost all religious groups in the United States regard executions as immoral. There is no credible evidence that capital punishment deters crime from the streets in America. Scientific studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that executions deter people from committing crime anymore than long prison sentences. Moreover, states without the death penalty have much lower murder rates. Executions are carried out at staggering cost to taxpayer.The funds spent for execution should be used to target the issue of killing and find solutions to help communities unite to demonstrate a more peaceful environment. Recent CNN reported how studies done have found that the death penalty criminal litigation, costs taxpayers far more than seeking life without parole. (CNN, 2015) The states spends millions of dollars to put away death row inmates when the funds could be used to help channel society in tune with how to become more positive and getting help to those who need
Van Den Haag, Earnest, and John Conrad. The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.